The COVID-19 vaccine rollout has been “mugged” by misinformation in some remote Indigenous communities, Northern Territory Chief Minister Michael Gunner says.

October 13, 2021

The COVID-19 vaccine rollout has been “mugged” by misinformation in some remote Northern Territory Aboriginal communities, Chief Minister Michael Gunner says.

Poor vaccination uptake data where the commonwealth is managing the rollout also means NT Health is “flying blind” across many NT communities.

Dozens of communities are likely to have vaccination rates below the benchmarked 80 per cent when the territory becomes part of a national plan to ease border and travel restrictions next month.

Vaccine uptake is lagging in 33 of the 51 communities that report results to the NT government.

The is no data for another 33 where the commonwealth is managing the vaccine rollout, Mr Gunner says.

“Because we don’t have those numbers we have to work on the conservative assumption that they are low numbers,” he said on Wednesday.

Some, like Alpurrurulam in the Barkly region and Ikuntji in Central Australia, have first-dose rates below 15 per cent.

Many others flounder, with double-dose rates well below 40 per cent.

“At the end of the day, with all the best information, with all the goodwill, with all the repeated attempts, there are some people, in some communities, who have said ‘no’ to the jab, and could keep saying ‘no’,” Mr Gunner said.

“We can’t hold people down and stick the needle in their arm. It is their choice, and some are choosing against it.”

Yuendumu, in Central Australia, was cited as example of where the rollout was lagging.

Health workers have visited the community of 700 people six times since the rollout started in the NT but few residents have had a jab, Mr Gunner said.

He said meetings had been held with leaders and elders and vaccine information had been provided in the local language, along with incentives for getting the jab.

“Despite all of these blitz efforts, despite the fact the vaccine has been sitting in the fridge there for months, just 20 per cent of eligible people in Yuendumu have received their first shot,” he said.

“It is just an unfortunate reality that some Territorians, across the whole Territory, have been mugged by misinformation.”

Vaccine hesitancy linked to the misinformation about its safety has been blamed for the slow uptake.

Mr Gunner warned that the virus would re-emerge in the NT and urged unvaccinated people to get the jab immediately.

Overall, 61 per cent of people in remote areas of the territory have had their first vaccine dose, with 46 per cent fully vaccinated.