MEDIA RELEASE: First Nations Communities urged to ignore the "Jibber" and see a "Jabber" about COVID vaccines
NEW CAMPAIGN: Vaccine hesitancy among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities targeted with the message: “Don’t listen to the Jibber, go see a Jabber.”
Western Queensland’s First Nations communities are being encouraged to speak with their local clinicians about the COVID vaccine, amid concerning reports of vaccine hesitancy among vulnerable populations in rural and remote Queensland.
The Western Queensland Primary Health Network (WQPHN), responsible for facilitating the COVID vaccine roll-out in selected outback populations, is spearheading a new campaign to raise awareness about the importance of getting accurate information about vaccines from reliable sources.
“On the whole we have had a very good response to the vaccine in our patch, with good take-up rates in our general population,” explains WQPHN CEO Sandy Gillies.
“But from our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health partners we’re hearing anecdotal reports of people continuing to be hesitant about receiving the vaccine, worried about side effects and confused with the messages they’re receiving from media and other sources.”
“So we’re encouraging our First Nations communities to try and bypass the mixed messages and fearmongering that can spread by word-of-mouth or online, and just simply chat with your local health clinic about the vaccine and raise any concerns you might have about the jab,” Sandy said.
The WQPHN’s “Jibber Jabber” campaign encourages people to ignore the “Jibber”, defined as foolish or worthless talk, and instead talk to a “Jabber”, being someone who administers a COVID vaccine jab.
The Nukal Murra Alliance, a collaboration between key Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health services in Western Queensland and the WQPHN, was integral in providing the on-the-ground information that informed the campaign.
Alliance member and Gidgee Healing CEO Renee Blackman says her community in North West Queensland is also experiencing vaccine hesitancy.
“I don’t get the sense on the ground that people are across-the-board anti the vaccine, it’s just that they don’t feel like they’ve got enough information to make an educated choice about whether the vaccine is for them,” Renee Blackman said.
The full media release can be found here
Media Liaison:
Paul Stone (WQPHN) M: 0414 326 848 E: paul@sticksandstonespr.com.au