- Australians aren’t getting their third or fourth Covid jabs as figures show decline
- 5.6million eligible Australians are yet to get their Covid booster vaccinations
- It comes as hospitals are struggling to cope with the influx of Covid patients
- Victorian healthcare system is so overloaded operations are getting cancelled
Millions are snubbing Covid booster shots with almost 30 per cent of the population still to get their third dose and around three-quarters yet to get a fourth jab, amid fears hospitals will buckle under the pressure.
State and federal health authorities are worried the number of Australians getting third and further doses of the Covid vaccine is plummeting, with only 72 per cent of eligible Aussies having received a third shot.
More than 5.6million out of the 20million eligible have yet to get their first booster jab – and only 5million have so far rolled up their sleeve for a fourth shot.
Federal health minister Mark Butler admits the vaccine roll out is now ‘flatlining’.
The widespread vaccine fatigue comes amid almost 29,000 new virus cases recorded across the nation on Saturday along with 89 deaths.
While decreasing daily over the past week, the number of virus patients in hospital care also remains a touch under 4500 or accounting for almost one in 12 hospital beds.
The number of active cases nationwide officially remains above 300,000.
Queensland is the worst-performing state for boosters, with 64.5 per cent of eligible residents receiving a third jab, while the ACT has the best coverage at 79.9 per cent.
The booster rate is 55 per cent for Indigenous Australians nationally.
New third doses are barely rising each day, ranging from NSW recording 2075 on Friday and the Northern Territory 45.
‘Third booster dose rates have flatlined, which is something I’m very concerned about,’ Health Minister Mark Butler said.
Information campaigns are being rolled out but there is a persistent problem with the slow rate of uptake by under-65s.
So far 4.22 million Australians have received a fourth dose, after the program was extended several weeks ago.
Opposition health spokeswoman Anne Ruston says the federal government’s response to the Omicron wave is ‘worrying’.
‘They have ended a range of supports that have helped Australians through the pandemic and have been forced to backflip on the pandemic leave disaster payment,’ she said.
‘With no explanation and no apparent advice or modelling to support their decisions, 70 COVID-related telehealth items, free RATS for concession card holders and aged care homes, and Operation COVID Shield have all ended.’
Senator Rushton said the government should release its health advice and modelling.
National cabinet, which is overseeing the pandemic response, is due to next meet on August 31.
The vaccination concerns come with Victoria announcing slightly fewer patients awaiting elective surgery despite one of the worst winters on record due to a horror flu season and the ongoing pandemic.
The state’s wait list for elective procedures shrunk from a revised 88,920 to 87,275 during the June quarter, while Ambulance Victoria experienced the busiest period for code one call-outs in its history.
It comes after some Victorian hospitals, including The Alfred and Bendigo Health, delayed or cancelled surgeries in mid-July amid the nation’s third Omicron wave.
Any potential impact of their decisions will therefore not be reflected until the next quarterly data batch.
‘We’re in the midst of a record-breaking period of demand on our health system but this latest data shows we are weathering the storm and building a system that will be stronger than ever,’ health minister Mary-Anne Thomas told reporters in Melbourne.
‘All our healthcare workers are doing an incredible job under challenging circumstances and this government is ensuring they have all the support they need, to give Victorians the care they deserve faster.’
Ms Thomas says there’s no quick fix but the government’s $12 billion pandemic repair plan and $1.5 billion COVID-19 catch-up initiative are starting to have an impact.
While fewer people were waiting for elective surgery than three months ago, opposition health spokeswoman Georgie Crozier noted there were 21,000 more people on the waiting list than at the same time last year.
‘That is 21,000 more Victorians waiting in pain with their health deteriorating,’ she said.