Concerns about hospital capacity
Today, we’ve seen new and concerning numbers in Western and Far West NSW – the vast majority of which will no doubt be First Nations Australians.
The Deputy Premier is talking about now the need to fly people to Sydney hospitals, which are already struggling.
We have said from the beginning, the Government needs to outline the plan for local hospital capacities servicing remote and regional communities out west.
Government’s First Nations vaccine rollout too little, too late
Today, estimates revealed that the Federal Government will rollout a vaccination effort to 30 Aboriginal communities around the nation – a month after this Indigenous COVID crisis began – too little, too late.
This is an admission that the Government completely stuffed up the First Nations vaccine rollout – a group they said would be a priority – and who are now lagging behind.
Government has more questions to answer
The Government now also needs to turn its mind to the way forward – we still have critically low vaccination rates in these communities around the country.
Is the Government considering higher vaccination targets for First Nations communities? And what is the modelling of transmission in First Nations communities when this virus moves beyond Western NSW?
What’s happening in NSW could happen anywhere in the country because of this Prime Minister’s vaccine rollout failures.