Shy of the needle: Minister asks why Qld is most hesitant state
The Queensland government is investigating vaccine hesitancy in the state, examining differences within age groups and between brands as it shifts its advice on AstraZeneca amid a growing COVID-19 outbreak.
Health minister Yvette DāAth said the government did a lot of consumer advocacy to find out why āwe have vaccine hesitancy or why weāre not coming forwardā.
Data needs to be examined to determine differences between vaccines and within age groups, but Ms DāAth said she had seen āpretty consistentā numbers across the state.
āWe want to have a look at those numbers a little bit closer,ā she said.
She was speaking before news of the COVID-19 death of a Sydney man in his 20s, which prompted authorities in that state to renew appeals to young people to get vaccinated as soon as possible.
The sudden death of the unvaccinated man in his southwest Sydney home will be referred to the NSW coroner.
The Daily Telegraph reported the man was a 27-year-old forklift driver Aude Alaskar, who collapsed in the Liverpool unit he shared with his wife on Tuesday and was unable to be revived by paramedics.
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His death comes a year after that of a Victorian man in his 20s who was reported to be Australiaās youngest COVID-19 fatality.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the manās death ādemonstrates again how this disease is lethal, how it affects people of all agesā.
Until recently, the Queensland government advised people under 40 not to get the AstraZeneca vaccine, which is in plentiful supply, due to the extremely small risk of a rare but treatable blood clotting disorder.
Earlier this week, Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young changed her advice in line with the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation, saying people should talk to their GPs about getting AstraZeneca.
āThe ATAGI advice says when you reach a large outbreak which I think weāre on the verge ofā¦thatās the time to go and have that discussion with your GP,ā she said on Tuesday.
The ATAGI has reaffirmed previous advice that in a large outbreak, the benefits of AstraZeneca are greater than the risk of rare side effects for all age groups.
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Young denied Queensland had the highest vaccine hesitancy in the country, but said she was concerned that a significant proportion of people over 60 still werenāt vaccinated.
āLanguage issuesā also need to be looked at, Ms DāAth said.
āWe have been really, really strong and I think led the country ā¦ in the way weāve embraced and engaged with our multicultural communities,ā she said.
āWe want to do that, not just in testing and messaging around staying at home but also about vaccination.ā
Meanwhile, DāAth said she did not know when an extra 150,000 AstraZeneca dose would arrive after being promised by the Commonwealth government.
Information provided to pharmacies suggested the vaccine wonāt arrive until next week.
āThey donāt even have a date, just next week sometime,ā DāAth said.
āIt should be getting on trucks today, 224 pharmacists were approved yesterday to start putting needles in arms.ā
South East Queensland is in the midst of an eight-day lockdown and the state government is still hopeful it can lift some restrictions on Sunday as planned.
The state opposition has criticised the government for what it says was a failure to accept previous doses of AstraZeneca made before the current Delta outbreak.
āThe fact of the matter is that in June this year the Health Minister knocked back 100,000 doses a week from the Federal Government and in July they were offered 25,000 doses a week of AstraZeneca,ā health spokeswoman Ros Bates said on Wednesday.
Addressing vaccine confusion, Bates said Queenslanders should talk to their GP and get vaccinated.
āItās that simple,ā she said.
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