CORONAVIRUS
— VACCINATION PLAN
239. Hon SOPHIA MOERMOND to the minister representing the
Minister for Health:
I
refer the minister to the COVID-19 vaccination program currently underway
across the state, and to the fact that emergency health management strategies
have been implemented by the Australian Department of Health that do not
actively promote secondary immunocompetency development strategies.
Historically, health promotion and public education campaigns such as ''vitamins
and minerals'' have reinforced the importance of a diet rich in vitamin D
and vitamin B. However, zinc is another key to immunocompetency and, more
specifically, respiratory health.
(1) Does the
government have any plans to combine the effective, culturally safe and
appropriate delivery of vaccinations alongside any immunodeficiency awareness
campaign, community education and clinical research?
(2) Does the Department of Health concede that
secondary immunocompetency training is necessary to support a holistic
approach to harm minimisation associated with community transmission of
COVID-19?
(3) Will the
minister ensure that informed consent extends to evaluating therapeutic
alternatives to the commonwealth COVID-19 vaccination program, and does he
intend to support Roll Up for WA with additional phases or campaigns beyond
Think Mental Health's ''Be Positive. Be Connected. Be Active''
campaign launched in April 2020?
The
PRESIDENT: Before I give the call to the Minister for Mental
Health, honourable member, I might refer you to the statement I made
yesterday in the chamber regarding the length of questions without notice and
the standing orders that guide the development of those questions.
Hon
STEPHEN DAWSON replied:
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question.
(1) WA Health fully supports and delivers key messages
and campaigns around healthy lifestyle, including diet and exercise
being a key component of health maintenance. The primary focus of the WA
government's COVID-19 vaccination program is to encourage uptake and
awareness of COVID-19 vaccinations.
(2) No. Healthy lifestyle is a key
component of all health maintenance.
(3) No. The focus
of consent for vaccination is ensuring that individuals are aware of key risks
associated with the vaccine. Informed consent should not be linked to program
evaluation or future public health campaigns. At this stage there are no plans
to combine the COVID-19 vaccination campaign with other health campaigns
currently in the market.
The
WA government operates the COVID-19 vaccination program on the advice of the
Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation, which works closely
with the Therapeutic Goods Administration. The TGA's evaluation is also
informed by the advice of an independent committee of external experts, the
Advisory Committee on Vaccines.