Member for Moore Shane Love MLA has called on the Labor Government to urgently consider an extensive rollout of the COVID-19 vaccination to rapidly increase rates and accessibility across the State.
Mr Love said the vaccination rates detailed over the weekend were appalling and alternative delivery methods needed to be considered to ensure every West Australian had access to the vaccine.
“Vaccination rates should be higher – three of the top 10 worst regional vaccination rates were in Moore, he said.
“For example, only 14.2 percent of eligible West Australians are fully vaccinated in Chapman Valley, 21.1 percent of those eligible in Gingin and 24.3 percent of those eligible in Chittering are fully vaccinated.”
“Having low vaccine rates and a struggling health system will be limiting factors for Western Australia to eventually transition to greater freedoms – fixing the slow uptake of the COVID-19 jab is simple and should be urgently prioritised.
“The Labor Government should consider implementing measures like targeted pop-up clinics in rural and remote areas to quickly boost accessibility and uptake of the vaccine.”
Mr Love said while the Opposition had made suggestions to set up walk-in clinics at major regional events, the Labor Government continued to drag its heels when it came to making it happen.
“We know West Australians want to roll up their sleeves and get the job done but that is difficult to do when we have regional clinics that are only open a few times a week.
“Now is the time to ramp up vaccination efforts across the State, especially when we see what’s unfortunately happening over East and how important it is to defend ourselves against COVID-19.
“Labor must be more creative when it comes to vaccine accessibility, otherwise we will continue to see these low rates in communities.”