Half of Indigenous Australians aged 16 and older are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as Aboriginal leaders seek an urgent prime ministerial meeting about failings in the rollout.

The figure was revealed as concerns were raised about more than 200 Indigenous workers at remote community stores, mostly in the Northern Territory, still unvaccinated two weeks out from that jurisdiction’s jab mandate deadline.

National Indigenous Australians Agency head Blair Exell has told a Senate estimates hearing 50.4 per cent of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 16-plus are double-dosed. 

About 63 per cent had received one dose. 

“Pleasingly, we are seeing Indigenous vaccination rates climb,” Mr Exell said on Friday.

Across the country, about 76 per cent of all over-16s are double-dosed and nearly 88 per cent have received one dose.

A total of 6283 Indigenous Australians had been infected with the virus up until Wednesday.

About one in 10 have been hospitalised, with 13 dying in NSW.

More than 20 Aboriginal leaders and health professionals have sought a meeting with Prime Minister Scott Morrison, and his ministers for health and Indigenous Australians.

Signatories including Professor Marcia Langton are “gravely concerned” about the low take-up of vaccines among Indigenous communities.

There is alarm about the lack of “realistic or actionable contingency plans” to deal with outbreaks agreed to by Aboriginal community-controlled organisations and Indigenous experts.

“It is evident that quarantine is currently near-impossible for those in overcrowded housing, as well as those without ready access to food, grocery and pharmaceutical delivery services,” the letter said.

The commonwealth-owned Outback Stores company said all of the organisation’s 109 frontline employees were fully vaccinated.

But it’s estimated just 15 to 20 per cent of 284 Indigenous people employed by Aboriginal corporations who work in the stores are jabbed, two weeks out from the Northern Territory’s November 12 vaccine deadline.

Outback Stores chief executive Michael Borg was “reasonably comfortable” of making progress in coming weeks.

“But I know that there will be some individuals that will be a little bit hesitant,” he said, adding some “tough discussions” would be needed.

Outback Stores hoped to get through another 150 vaccinations in the next fortnight so workers, mostly in the NT, could keep their jobs.

The territory government is requiring swathes of workers including in community stores to have a first dose by November 12 to keep their jobs, with full vaccination due by December 24.

The Northern Land Council said it was “working against some pretty silly social media messaging coming from kind of crazy church groups”.

“I don’t understand it,” acting chief executive Joe Martin-Jard said.

“But we’re asking people to stop listening to social media and to get advice from their Aboriginal health practitioners or their doctor or nurse to tell them the truth.”

Mr Martin-Jard could not say what proportion of the council’s Indigenous workforce remained unvaccinated.

Central Land Council chief executive Lesley Turner said about 66 Indigenous staff members were either unvaccinated or not fully vaccinated.

It had a $500 vaccination incentive, but not everyone elected to take the money.

AAP

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