MORE than 20 indigenous leaders and health professionals have written to Prime Minister Scott Morrison seeking an urgent meeting about low COVID-19 vaccination rates among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Currently more than 75 per cent of the overall Australian population aged 16 and older is fully vaccinated. In contrast, 46 per cent of indigenous Australians have had two COVID-19 vaccine shots.

The leaders have signed the letter that outlines the “gravest concerns” at continuing low levels of COVID-19 vaccination in Indigenous Australian communities.

The letter comes as states, including NSW and Victoria, have eased COVID-19 related restrictions.

“Despite the efforts of the Aboriginal Community Controlled health sector, we have unfortunately not seen the same levels of vaccination achieved in our communities as in the wider population,” the letter reads.

It cites housing, access to essential supplies and a lack of sufficient health infrastructure in remote communities as key risks for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

“It is evident that quarantine is currently near-impossible for those in overcrowded housing, as well as those without ready access to food, grocery and pharmaceutical delivery services,” the signatories write.

“Moreover, rural and regional medical centres and hospitals lack the technical and human resources available in metropolitan centres and would be quickly overwhelmed if even a small number of covid patients should require inpatient care.

“Compounding these risks are the lack of adequate capabilities to evacuate seriously ill covid patients to locations where they can receive the care they require.”

Prof Peter Yu, vice-president First Nations at ANU, said he and the other signatories have been “watching in horror” as covid spread rapidly through indigenous communities that suffer from ongoing health and well-being issues.

“The most important thing we can do now is the development and publication of an agreed strategy between all governments, the Aboriginal community controlled health sector and other indigenous experts that seeks to achieve the highest possible vaccination rates in our communities,” he said.

“It is this more than anything else that will give indigenous leaders and their communities some assurance that our peoples can be fully involved in overcoming the existential threats that the pandemic poses to us.”

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