Victoria ‘Partnerships’ with CALD community leaders rewarded

Professor Ben Cowie, an infectious diseases physician with the Department of Health, says a hiring spree of bi-cultural workers, the enlistment of “community vaccine champions” and funding towards cultural groups has improved the cut-through of COVID-19 messaging.

Part of the strategy has involved giving those leaders face-to-face time with the likes of department heavyweights like Jeroen Weimar, Professor Brett Sutton and even Premier Daniel Andrews himself. The hope is key instructions from those meetings will filter through to those who don’t watch the news or can’t speak English, Professor Cowie says.

“It’s often so much more effective having those messages coming from established leaders within the community as opposed to coming direct from the government,” he says.

Professor Cowie points to the recent outbreak at Al-Taqwa College to illustrate the stronger relationships between community leaders, the government and local health networks. More than 90 per cent of the school community heeded urgent calls to turn up to a pop-up clinic for testing. In a statement to the ABC, a school spokesman said “students, staff and families are doing everything they can to look after themselves and the wider Victorian community”.

‘Substantial misinformation’ a challenge in vaccine push

As of Thursday, 24 per cent of Australians over 16 were fully vaccinated. Victoria’s numbers are almost identical. But the federal government’s target of 70 per cent — which would see the end of strict lockdowns and borders re-opening — appears under threat.

A Melbourne University survey released on Thursday showed 16 per cent of Victorians would refuse to get the jab, and a further eight per cent were unsure about it. Dr Shiraz Mahkri, the president of Muslim Health Professionals Australia, said public vaccination campaigns needed to be “more innovative, clear and concise”.

“You do see comments from people who are extremely averse to vaccinations and that’s really challenging,” he says. “Our target is people who are a little hesitant or sitting on the fence. They’re more likely to come on board.”