Buses roll out as efforts to boost lagging Pilbara vaccine rates increase ahead of WA border deadline

As the date for the WA border reopening edges closer, vaccination rates in the Pilbara remain low with fewer than 55 per cent of the population fully vaccinated against COVID-19. While more than 85 per cent of Western Australians are double dosed and gearing towards borders reopening on February 5, the Pilbara remains the lowest vaccinated region in WA. As of January 4, 58.9 per cent of the West Pilbara had received one jab and just 52.5 per cent were double jabbed, while in the East Pilbara 61.9 per cent had one dose and 54.1 per cent were double dosed. A WA Government spokesperson said extensive efforts were being made to increase vaccination rates in the Pilbara including mobile response vaccinations teams that were continuing to offer door to door vaccination in all towns across the Pilbara. “During January mobile buses will be in the Pilbara offering vaccines after hours in parks and other locations for vulnerable clients,” they said. “The WACHS (WA Country Health Services) continues to work with industry to ensure access for residential port and mine workers in coastal and inland towns. “In addition, vaccinators are being deployed to WACHS-run remote Aboriginal communities to continue to offer opportunistic vaccinations to community members. “Vaccination rates in the Pilbara continue to climb every day, 59.5 per cent of people aged 12+ in the Pilbara have received their first dose, and 52.7 per cent have received their second dose.” Mining and Pastoral MLC Neil Thomson said low vaccination rates in parts of the Kimberley, Pilbara and Goldfields highlighted a failure by the WA Government to address vaccine hesitancy. Mr Thomson said urgent face to face and repeated contacts were needed across the region. “Regional lockdowns will destroy confidence in our tourism industry. It is essential that tour operators have the confidence to take bookings for the upcoming winter season so we can avoid a third consecutive year of hardship for many tourism operators,” he said. A State Government spokesperson dismissed claims by Mr Thomson saying the WA Liberals had contributed nothing to Western Australia’s vaccination efforts. “Instead of getting out on the ground and encouraging vaccination efforts, they have sought to undermine the roll-out at every turn,” they said. “They have done nothing to promote the huge range of vaccination options available in the Pilbara, and once again here they are throwing rocks from the sidelines.” Meanwhile vaccination rates among the Indigenous population slowly increases with more than 70 per cent having received their first jab in the Shires of Ashburton and East Pilbara. As of January 5 the Shire of Ashburton reported 73.2 per cent of the Indigenous population had one jab while 59.8 were double dosed and in the East Pilbara 70.5 had their first dose but just 45.5 per cent were fully vaccinated. In the City of Karratha 63.2 per cent had received one jab and 46.5 were double jabbed, while in the Town of Port Hedland 59.7 per cent of the population had recorded their first vaccine dose and 44.3 had received two doses.