CORONAVIRUS — VACCINATIONS
174. Ms L.L. BAKER to the Minister for Health:
I
refer to the McGowan Labor government's response to COVID-19 that has
delivered the highest vaccination rates in the world. Can the minister
update the house on how this government's clear plan to increase the
vaccination rates, including its vaccination mandates and proof-of-vaccination
requirements, has kept Western Australians out of hospital and protected
vulnerable members of our community?
Ms A. SANDERSON replied:
I thank the member for Maylands for
her question on what has been one of our important tools in protecting the
community against COVID, and that is the mandatory vaccination policy that was
put in place by this government on advice from the Chief Health Officer.
We have seen over the last two
years the strong management by this government, the Premier and the former
Minister for Health. Keeping COVID out of Western Australia meant that people
were so used to going about their business that there was not the sense of
urgency for vaccinations that we saw in the eastern states that had rampant
outbreaks and queues at vaccination clinics. We needed to lift those
vaccination rates amongst the community because we knew that was one of our
best protections against COVID and serious diseases as a result of COVID.
The mandates that were put in place
at the end of last year covered around 70 per cent of the state's
workforce, including really important industries like freight and logistics,
mining and resources, teachers, education assistants, the health workforce and
police and prison officers, as well as the all-important construction sector
that is helping to drive our economic
recovery from COVID. Workers in these industries needed to be double vaccinated
by 31 December or 31 January, depending on the industry. These deadlines
have provided a really important impetus in encouraging the take-up of COVID
vaccination. Our double-dose vax rates are over 98 per cent now and are world
leading. But we saw at the end of last year a new variant that the double-dose
vaccinations were not holding up as well against, and we knew that the third
dose was one of our most critical tools in managing Omicron in the community.
On the advice of the Chief Health Officer last year, the booster dose was also
made mandatory for those workforces already covered by the mandates.
This
policy is working. We have incredible vaccination rates amongst our community.
Among the eligible population in Western Australia, 85 per cent are
triple dosed. That is one of the best in the country. It is actually only
around 66 per cent nationally. We are
leagues ahead of the other states in our third dose rates, and I am confident
that we would not have been in that position unless we had had an outbreak. We
would not be in this incredible position if we had not put those important
mandates in place. To underscore the importance of the vaccination and the
third dose, 30 per cent of our hospital admissions for COVID are totally
unvaccinated people. Given that they are less than two per cent of the broader
population, they make up a third of our hospital admissions. That is evidence
right there. Another 10 per cent are children who are too young to be
vaccinated. The evidence and the importance of that is really quite stark. It
is a shame that we have done that under constant criticism from the opposition
around vaccination rates. At every point,
the opposition has chosen to be exceptionally unhelpful and has criticised our
response, including the member for
Cottesloe retweeting anti-vaccination propaganda. The member for Vasse, the
opposition's spokesperson, called a prominent anti-vaxxer ''my
hero'' on Twitter, giving those people legitimacy and airing their
dangerous views.
Several members interjected.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Members!
Ms A. SANDERSON: Not once
has the member for Vasse publicly encouraged people to get vaccinated.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER:
Minister, there is a point of order.
Withdrawal of Remark
Mr W.J. JOHNSTON: I object to the words used by the Leader of the
Liberal Party and ask you to get him to withdraw.
The
DEPUTY SPEAKER: Yes. Please withdraw.
Dr D.J.
HONEY: I withdraw.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Thank
you. Carry on, minister.
Questions without Notice Resumed
Ms A. SANDERSON: I thank the
community and I thank industry for their leadership. I thank the unions for
their leadership. I thank the workforces for their leadership. The only people
left not to thank is the opposition for its unhelpful and dangerous propagation
of those views.