The number of Australians getting vaccinated against COVID-19 and other serious diseases has decreased, a new report found.
“COVID vaccination rates have plunged. In December 2021, more than 90 percent of high-risk adults had been vaccinated for COVID in the previous six months. Today, it is just 27 percent,” reads a statement by the Institute on Nov. 26.
“The consequences are deadly,” said report lead author and Grattan Institute Health Program Director Peter Breadon.
“COVID is still with us, and it’s still causing more deaths and putting more people in hospital than the flu.”
Other than COVID, uptake of other adult vaccines was also “far too low.” Less than half of Australians in their 70s were vaccinated for shingles. Only one in five for pneumococcal disease, which can cause meningitis and pneumonia.
The situation was worse for senior people across certain regions, suburbs, and cultural backgrounds.
It is revealed that people who do not speak English at home were half as likely to have the recommended COVID-19 vaccines, while Indigenous Australians were one-third less likely, and many people in rural areas missed out.
Vaccination rates also “varied dramatically” within capital cities such as Brisbane, with the take-up rate of flu vaccines varying by 30 percent across different parts of the city.
High-risk adult Australians are missing out on recommended vaccines. Credit to Grattan Institute
The report called for a new National Vaccination Agreement between the federal government and the states to set “ambitious targets” in driving up vaccination.
It proposed a vaccine “surge” before winter to ensure as many people are protected as possible, meaning that rules on the time between jabs would become flexible for high-risk groups, regardless of when they had their last jab.
The “surge” would also need government advertising campaigns, which include SMS alerts to Australians at high risk of serious illness, as well as more funding for pharmacists, GPs, and Aboriginal health organisations to reach aged care home residents, cultural groups that are missed out, and indigenous Australians.
“Even before the pandemic, too many adults weren’t getting potentially life-saving vaccines,” the report stated.
“Without a national agenda to reset vaccination, adult vaccination is likely to remain stuck in a rut or even decline, causing needless suffering, death, and healthcare spending.”
Economist Says Grattan Played a Part in Creating Distrust in Vaccines
The low vaccination rate found by the report has been attributed to the Australian government’s hardline policy of forcing COVID-19 jabs during the pandemic.“This directly created the current problem of people losing trust in all vaccines.”
Mr. Murray criticised Grattan Institute for supporting the government’s policy back then.
