“For example, we need another 12,000 unvaccinated people in the Pilbara to roll up to meet an 80 per cent double dose target, we are most concerned about the Pilbara.
“When the virus comes into the state – and it will – the impact on the unvaccinated will be devastating.
“I implore anyone who has not yet vaccinated regional or otherwise, to come forward and roll up for WA.
“There are effectively only 33 days left to receive your first dose to ensure you can get your second dose by the time the border controls are eased.”
Air travel changes
Low vaccination rates would also prompt a new rule meaning people could only travel to the three regions by air if they were vaccinated.
WA Opposition Leader Mia Davies.Credit:Peter de Kruijff
But it will prove difficult to police since the restriction would not cover road travel, with people within WA able to drive around the state in most instances without having to pass police roadblocks.
WA Vaccine Commander Chris Dawson said if necessary police would set up vehicle checkpoints in the case of an outbreak in infections.
“Practically, it’s impossible to guarantee that we’ll put a police officer on every road … there’s a resource issue there,” he said.
Opposition Leader Mia Davies said the state government should have set an opening date much earlier to assist in driving vaccination rates up.
“There could have been greater certainty for businesses and families that have been separated for so long,” she said.
She welcomed a date finally being set, but was concerned about reaching the 90 per cent vaccination rate.
“I’m very concerned about the stubbornly low vaccination rates in the Kimberley, the Pilbara and the Goldfields and I just urge the government to make sure that they’re being as creative and using all of the information that they have to hand from other jurisdictions to get everybody over the line,” she said.
“The last thing we want to see is those regions being disadvantaged because we haven’t … used the luxury of that time over the last two years to get those vulnerable populations vaccinated.”
Pass the pub test? Three WA regions on notice over low COVID-19 vaccination rates
Source: Philippines Alive
