THE Disability Royal Commission has described the Federal Government’s vaccine rollout to the disability community as “seriously deficient” and lacking in transparency.
In a draft report released today, the Commission acknowledges that while the Australian Government Department of Health confronted major challenges in framing the COVID-19 vaccine roll-out strategy it failed to meet these challenges especially to people living with disabilities and disability support workers.
The Commission is now calling for the Federal Government to not allow state and territory governments to ease COVID-19 restriction until people with disabilities have had the opportunity to be vaccinated.
“It would be grossly unfair, indeed unconscionable, if any people with disability who have not been given the opportunity to be fully vaccinated by the time the 70 per cent threshold is reached are denied the freedoms available to people who have been fully vaccinated,” the report said.
Chair of Catholic Social Services Australia, Francis Sullivan, said the rollout of the vaccine to people with disabilities had, by any measure, been poor.
“Today’s draft report finds the Government failed to consult with the disability sector, that it lacked transparency in decision making and it failed to provide clear and easily understood information about vaccines and the rollout,” Mr Sullivan said.
“Because of the Government’s failure to provide enough vaccine for the entire community, people with disabilities have been, yet again, left at the back of the queue.
“Many are still unvaccinated and in a precarious position as governments around Australia start talking about relaxing COVID-19 restrictions.
“Without the opportunity to be vaccinated, they face significant risks to their health if they contract COVID-19.
“This is a major problem of the Federal Government’s own making and a clear result of its failure to access enough vaccines in the first place.”
