Disability advocates continue to sound the alarm about a lack of access to COVID-19 vaccines as the federal government concedes there is still a way to go.
Data shows 26.2 per cent of 267,526 National Disability Insurance Scheme participants aged 16 or older have been double-dosed, and 44.2 per cent partially vaccinated, as of August 19.
Of 27,293 people identified in the government’s highest-priority group, slightly more than half had been fully vaccinated, with 67 per cent receiving one dose.
Disability Minister Linda Reynolds insists the government has picked up the pace although there is still a way to go.
It comes as the virus spreads into disability sectors in Canberra and Newcastle and Pfizer vaccinations open up to children with disability as young as 12.
“While we’ve still got a way to go, we have made some really significant progress,” Senator Reynolds told ABC radio on Tuesday.
She did not guarantee everyone with a disability would be vaccinated by the time Australia reached over-16 vaccination targets of between 70 and 80 per cent.
That’s not good enough for People With Disabilities Australia president Sam Connor.
“We’re hearing from community members every single day that they cannot get access to vaccinations, whether they’re in 1a and 1b (priority groups),” she told AAP.
“We all feel desperately unsafe and we’re living with this constant messaging around devaluing. Surely, in order to open up, we need to ensure those most at risk are made safe first.”
Senator Reynolds said it had been challenging to roll out vaccines to people in shared residential accommodation.
Contact had been made with more than 80 per cent of people across 6000 homes.
The minister noted the rate of infection for NDIS participants was three times lower than the national average.
“That has happened because people at state and federal level have worked closely with providers, with unions, with carers to make sure that where there are outbreaks, we very closely manage (them) and do proper infection control,” Senator Reynolds said.
Nearly 91,000 or just over 55 per cent of disability support workers who underwent a screening check had received one dose.
Since the start of the pandemic, 10 NDIS participants are confirmed to have died with COVID-19.
AAP
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