QCOSS has written to Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk in support of an ACOSS call to National Cabinet to set vaccination targets for priority populations and to take a transparent approach to the release of disaggregated population and location specific vaccination data.

QCOSS is working alongside our community services sector to get vaccines to the most vulnerable in our society.

“We can’t allow for the final 20 per cent of the unvaccinated population to be the people experiencing the most disadvantage in our community,” said Aimee McVeigh, QCOSS CEO.

“These are people who are already more likely to contract COVID-19 or suffer worse effects from the virus. They need protection.”

“A nationwide target of 80 per cent vaccination ignores the barriers our frontline workers, those who work in essential industries but cannot work from home like carers, childcare workers and cleaners, and people with health vulnerabilities including First Nations Peoples, those with a disability, experiencing homelessness, and people on income support, face in trying to get the vaccine.”

“We have seen how these communities have been left behind in other states. We urgently need a commitment from the Commonwealth Government that will allow the Queensland Government to apply these lessons and deliver better outcomes for Queenslanders.”

Recent research from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare has shown people on low incomes have died of COVID-19 at four times the rate people with higher incomes.

McVeigh also called on National Cabinet to agree to release disaggregated data on who was accessing the vaccine so government and the community sector can focus efforts where take-up is low.

Through the Australian Immunisation Register, the Commonwealth Government has access to disaggregated information, such as vaccination rates for people on the disability support pension and by income.

“We know that the Queensland Government is committed to ensuring that all Queenslanders have access to good information and the vaccination, but progress against this commitment cannot be measured without access to disaggregated and location specific vaccination data,” said McVeigh.