Flying squad leading the Covid-19 vaccine charge in western NSW
In outback pockets across NSW, Royal Flying Doctor Service teams are rushing to stay ahead of Covid-19. And Aboriginal people are rushing to them.
In outback pockets across NSW, Royal Flying Doctor Service teams are rushing to stay ahead of Covid-19. And Aboriginal people are rushing to them.
About 6000 Aboriginal people over the age of 12 in the west and far west of NSW have now had a Covid-19 vaccine. Since Covid-19 was confirmed to have arrived in western NSW on August 11, RFDS doctors and nurses have been working with increased supplies and new urgency.
Randall Greenberg, an emergency doctor and the RFDS’s chief medical officer in the region, has been answering people’s questions about the vaccine at clinics across NSW since June.
“I just noticed that there were people hesitant and unfortunately there is just so much misinformation out there,” he said. “We give people the facts. One (Aboriginal) gentleman was unsure and I told him that on that day there were over 50 Covid patients in ICU in NSW not one of them was fully vaccinated. He rolled up his sleeve right there.”
Indigenous people have been rattled by the unfolding crisis in the Aboriginal community of Wilcannia where there were 47 confirmed cases on Tuesday. Dr Greenberg will arrive in Wilcannia on Thursday to work as the town’s doctor. Wilcannia, which had a population of 745 at the 2016 census, does not usually have a resident doctor but there are concerns that some infected residents could need emergency care in the days or weeks ahead. Authorities are aware of the possibility someone in Wilcannia with Covid-19 will fall ill quickly or present late to the local health facility. “We need to be ready,” Dr Greenberg said.
More than 2500 Aboriginal people from Dubbo to Broken Hill have had a Covid-19 vaccination since the outbreak in western NSW began. It has infected mostly Indigenous people. Two weeks ago, just 20 per cent of Indigenous people over 16 in western and far western NSW had received one Covid-19 vaccination. According to latest immunisation data held by the Commonwealth, that figure reached 32.2 per cent on Tuesday.
Still, only 2040 Aboriginal people in the region – or 10.4 per cent of the Indigenous population over 16 – were fully vaccinated on Tuesday. The comparison with the general population is stark – 30.9 per cent of Australians over 16 have received two shots.
The National Community Controlled Aboriginal Health Organisation believes it will take until the end of October before 80 per cent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged over 12 are vaccinated in NSW, Victoria and the ACT. It is predicted to take longer in other states.
At Menindee on Tuesday, nurse Belinda Gentle, doctor Yasmin Salleh and Aboriginal health worker Natalie Bates vaccinated 40 people and 15 of them were receiving their first dose. “They tell us they are doing it for their family and for their mob,” Ms Gentle said.
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