Introduction by Croakey: COVID-19 vaccination rates for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people vary enormously across the country and also within jurisdictions, according to Australian Government figures released today.
In some parts of Sydney, 85 percent of Indigenous people aged 15 and over are fully vaccinated, while in some parts of Western Australia, just 21 percent are fully vaccinated.
The figures underscore the importance of efforts to promote vaccination, at a time when so many First Nations people are looking forward to re-connecting with Country and family, writes James Blackwell, a proud Wiradjuri man and a Research Fellow in Indigenous Policy at UNSW’s Centre for Social Impact, based on Ngunnuwal Country in Canberra.
James Blackwell writes:
As the south-east of Australia begins to reopen communities and economies after a long winter of lockdowns, and a long 18 months of the COVID-19 pandemic, there are a lot of mixed emotions for those in the First Nations community around what this means for us, and what we still need to do to protect ourselves and our Elders.
How do we feel about the fact that while reopening yes should be something that we celebrate, as we can begin to see family again, and friends, and reconnect with Country, so many of our mob still remain unvaccinated? And, more importantly, what can we do about it?
We have spent a long two years suffering through this pandemic; separated from friends and family, trapped behind state and international borders, and cut off from our communities. For those in Victoria, people there have been in lockdown for longer than anywhere else in the world. Even for people in NSW, which was notoriously lockdown adverse, or the ACT, which through luck and skill escaped COVID for much of 2020 and 2021, lockdowns have been long, and harsh.
This is especially true of the impact on First Nations communities, with First Nations people severely over-represented in COVID policing, at rates almost four times higher than the non-Indigenous population. Legal services in both states have expressed concern about these approaches, but they are almost too familiar for First Nations people.
COVID restrictions, including social distancing and restrictions on cultural practices, also had large effects on the First Nations community, with public health measures in particular having a negative impact on Stolen Generations survivors and their communities. These measures of course were designed to protect us from COVID-19, and by-and-large they did.
The fact that we got through the whole of 2020 without a single First Nations death to COVID-19 is a source of great pride to many First Nations people. However, the efforts used to mitigate in communities often lead to disproportionate outcomes compared to the general population. Aboriginal townships running out of food, and Health Department decisions further limiting food supply, has been and will continue to be a major issue for First Nations communities as the pandemic continues beyond reopening.
Finding joy
The end of many of these measures, and the ability for our communities and families to bond together again, is something we should be and are celebrating. The ability for many (vaccinated) First Nations people to return to Country and engage again in person with many of the things it means to be a First Nations person, is really important for mental and physical wellbeing. Further, for every vaccinated First Nations person, that is another person protected, another family, another Elder. All of these things are things worth focusing on. Celebrate the joy as it were.
Many First Nations people have also struggled financially during the pandemic, losing jobs or income, being forced to make decisions that put their health at risk to continue providing for their families and communities. Yes this has been a problem for people across Australia, but has disproportionately affected First Nations people; with only 1 in 10 First Nations people considered “financially secure” before the pandemic, according to research from UNSW’s Centre for Social Impact.
So, the end of lockdowns, and the resumption of life to a level of normalcy, is going to have tangible and widespread benefits for First Nations peoples’ mental health, physical health, and financial health. All of these things are extremely important and discounting them as relevant to discussions of lockdown fails to grasp the importance of these not only to people more broadly, but to First Nations people especially. Being deprived of Country, community, feeling shame about finances or health disparities are serious issues for First Nations people.
The end of lockdowns will not eliminate any of these issues, not without systemic and structural change to the nature of Australia. But for many First Nations people, there is great joy to be found in the end of lockdown.
However, we must remain aware of the fact that as of the time of writing, we have lost nine First Nations people this year, including Elders, to COVID-19, mostly through government negligence and inaction. First Nations people in this country are at severe risk of COVID-19, as are our communities in particular.
We cannot afford to lose Elders, and through them lose culture, to an entirely preventable disease that can be vaccinated against. Which is why it is so important that First Nations people need to step up to be vaccinated, and work to get their communities vaccinated.
According to the Department of Health’s most recent data for Indigenous people at the time of writing, from October 19, Indigenous second-dose vaccination rates, in comparison to the rates for the whole population, can be seen as follows:
Without exception, these numbers are significantly worse than the vaccine data for the general population as at the same date in time. Like most issues when it comes to public health and our First Nations, we are lagging severely behind the rest of the nation, something which is only going to cause greater illness and death in our communities and contribute to untold suffering. And, sadly, this disparity is only likely to remain, if not grow greater, as time goes on.
There is not a single First Nations policy academic who is not intimately aware of these numbers, nor any First Nations person in this country not aware of the risk the virus poses to our community as we begin the reopening of the country. To suggest otherwise would be offensive. The risk is here for us every day, ever-present in our minds. Like every other issue in society, from our interactions with police, to even everyday interactions with the healthcare system, we are at greater risk of death.
This is why we must not only encourage First Nations people to seek out the vaccine, doing so in a culturally safe and trauma-informed way, but also combat the severe misinformation amongst First Nations people about the vaccine, which is hampering efforts to protect our communities.
Actions needed
The Government must also be doing more to safeguard and protect our most at risk. The “national disgrace” that was the Commonwealth and NSW Governments’ handling of the COVID-19 outbreak in Wilcannia will be a stain on all of us for a very long time, with a focus more on policing and food restrictions than healthcare, redirection of vaccines from the community to the city, and a lack of forward planning for an outbreak in the community, despite forewarning by local Elders.
This is exactly what we need not to be doing, and as we reopen to the virus now, governments at all levels need to be taking affirmative steps to safeguard places like Wilcannia and Dubbo, and we need to continue pressing them on the issue.
The end of lockdown brings lots of risks and concerns for First Nations peoples and communities right around the country. COVID-19 in our communities is something we cannot afford, and something which we can very much prevent.
This does not mean that we keep our society or First Nations people in a perpetual lockdown; this is too damaging for our mental, physical, and economic well-being. It means that we need to step up our vaccinations and public health efforts for those most at risk, while still moving forward in a way that allows us to connect as First Nations people again.
While re-opening poses risks to us, it’s not a sin to want to focus on the joy, and focus on reconnecting again. I for one am looking forward to going back on Country, and to hugging my (vaccinated) Nan.
James Blackwell is a proud Wiradjuri man and a Research Fellow in Indigenous Policy at UNSW’s Centre for Social Impact, based on Ngunnuwal Country in Canberra. He is also a Board Member of Croakey Health Media since 2021.
Follow on Twitter: @BlackwellJ_
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