Police will use emergency alert system to jolt jab rate in lagging areas

A phone alert system usually reserved for emergency situations will be used to message people living in areas with low vaccination rates. FULL LIST OF REGIONAL VAX RATES

An emergency alert used for disasters will be sent to people living in areas with low vaccination rates as a last-ditch effort to protect people from Covid-19 before the borders open.

The State Disaster Coordinator and Deputy Commissioner Steve Gollschewski today authorised use of the emergency alert system to LGAs in North West Queensland, Far North Queensland, Central Queensland and Southern Queensland.

The text alert will direct people to the Queensland Health web page showing available vaccination locations.

Cherbourg in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland is currently the lowest vaccinated, with only 37.7 per cent with one dose and 26.9 per cent fully vaccinated.

Rhys Barnes gets a Pfizer vaccination at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition centre vaccination hub. NewsWire / Sarah Marshall

Yarrabah, near Cairns, has 46.8 per cent single dosed and 26.3 per cent double dosed while Isaac, just north of Rockhampton, has 51.7 per cent of the population with their first dose.

Police have urged people not to block the number as it may be used in future to provide lifesaving information during a disaster.

It comes as Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk was unable to confirm what, if any, planning has been undertaken by the state government to protect indigenous communities with low vaccination rates for when the borders reopen.

The Premier said discussions would be held “closer to the time” around whether individual communities could decide to shut-out unvaccinated people.

“My priority is to get people vaccinated,” she said.

When pressed at Thursday’s press conference around what planning had been done to protect those communities when the borders reopened - which is when the state government has repeatedly warned Covid-19 would find the unvaccinated - Ms Palaszczuk didn’t provide specifics.

“What the problem is, is there is a lot of misinformation that is being distributed to our indigenous communities,” she said.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk speaks during a press conference at a Vaccination Hub in Logan, south of Brisbane. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dan Peled

“It is factually incorrect, it is wrong and it is going to have a big impact on communities.

“I am urging all of our indigenous Australians to disregard the false information that is being circulated on Facebook and get vaccinated to protect yourself, your family and your community and your state.”

Pressed further, the Premier said there was a “good, co-ordinated plan”.

“The federal government was responsible for the vaccination of our First Nations (people), we are helping with that,” she said.

“There are planes going in, there are people going in to get people vaccinated, so there are people going out to every community across Queensland and giving people the opportunity to get vaccinated.

“We are throwing everything at this.”

Ms Palaszczuk said time was running out and people needed to get the jab.

Originally published as Police will use emergency alert system to jolt jab rate in lagging areas