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A health alert will be sent out via the state disaster emergency system to encourage people in areas with low vaccination rates to get a COVID-19 jab.
It’s among a raft of measures to increase the number of jabs in local government areas in Far North Queensland that are still lagging behind state targets ahead of next month’s border reopening.
The alert will be sent as a text message to mobile devices today.
It will include a link to the Queensland Government website with information on how and where to access vaccination.
The emergency alert system is also used for potentially lifesaving information during other disasters such as cyclones.
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Communities and Housing Minister Leeanne Enoch, who has been visiting Far North Queensland Indigenous communities this week, said it’s now more important than ever to become protected.
“Vaccination rates are low in too many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities,” she said.
“It is so important that communities – and especially First Nations Elders who are the precious libraries of our history and the cultural compass of our future – are vaccinated.
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“Vaccinations are so very important for all Queenslanders but particularly within Indigenous communities, so I have been meeting with community leaders to talk about the need to get vaccinated and to combat misinformation about the vaccine.”
The community of Yarrabah continues to have the lowest vaccination rate in the state, with 26.3 per cent fully vaccinated and 46.8 per cent receiving one dose.
For the Far North statistical area 3, which takes in an area west of Ingham north to Cape York and the Torres Strait, just 41.6 per cent of people are fully vaccinated, while half have received one dose.
In the Mareeba local government area just over half of the population is fully vaccinated (53.1 per cent), while 65 per cent of residents in the Cairns local government area have received a double dose.
Cairns Regional Council has announced a partnership with the North Queensland Cowboys NRL club to provide extra incentive for jabs.
Player Ben Hampton will travel to Cairns this weekend to encourage residents to roll up their sleeves.
Mayor Bob Manning said that while Council isn’t responsible for the roll out, it is providing support.
“Once borders open, there will be some transmission of the virus and medical experts are telling us the best defence is being fully vaccinated,” he said.
“Pass this message on, getting vaccinated it is the most important thing you can do for our city at the moment.
“That is why we have been working with a high-profile organisation, the Cowboys, to actively encourage as many people as possible to get the vaccine.”
Hampton, a Mareeba product, will be at Ravizza Park in Edmonton on Saturday from 4 to 7pm.
“A number of my teammates have been vocal in encouraging people to receive the vaccine and I’m really excited to be travelling to Edmonton to help spread the message,” he said.
“It is very important not only for our game, but also for the safety of all Australians, that as many people as possible get vaccinated.”
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The Edmonton event will also include live music, food vans, and a free movie screening of Dragon Rider.
Wuchopperen Health Service will have a vaccine pop-up clinic onsite, and everyone receiving their jab at the clinic, as well as anyone showing evidence they have received a COVID-19 vaccination will go into a draw to win prizes.
Main points
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People in low vaccination areas will receive an emergency health alert on their mobile phones
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Parts of Far North Queensland have the lowest vaccination rates in the state
- Cowboys NRL player Ben Hampton is also urging people to get vaccinated ahead of the border reopening
