Queenslanders named among the most vaccine-hesitant in Australia
Queenslanders have been named among the most vaccine-hesitant in the country, according to new data from the Melbourne Institute.
The Insitute's Vaccine Hesitancy Tracker revealed 11.1 per cent of adult Queenslanders — or one in nine — had reservations about getting the jab.
These numbers are significantly down from just three weeks ago, when 18.3 per cent of Queenslanders were hesitant to get the vaccine.
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Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk urged Queenslanders to get the vaccine, saying it was crucial to prevent mass outbreaks. 9News
Vaccine Hesitancy Tracker data revealed hesitancy rates across the country were steadily falling too, from 11.5 per cent across Australia two weeks ago, to now just 6.4 per cent.
Researchers predict this drop in numbers is due to new mandates taking effect in December that limit freedoms for the unvaccinated.
Among the vaccine-hesitant population of Queensland, more than half say they will not get vaccinated, shedding new doubt on state government predictions the state will have 90 per cent of its residents double jabbed by early next year.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk urged Queenslanders to get the vaccine, saying it was crucial to prevent mass outbreaks.
"The virus hunts down the unvaccinated," she said.
"So please, please, please go and get vaccinated. I understand people have concerns out there, some people have concerns about the vaccinations, can you please just go and sit with your local GP."
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Queenslanders have been named among the most vaccine-hesitant in the country, according to new data from the Melbourne Institute. 9News
The hesitancy data from Queensland comes amid fresh concerns for the state's hospital system, which experts say may not cope if inoculation targets are not met.
"If we don't, our health system will be vastly overrun and people without COVID won't get into hospital, and that will drastically impact their health and kill some people," the Australian Medical Association's Dr Chris Perry said.
"What's going to happen to people that come in with a heart attack, people having a stroke, people having a motor vehicle accident with a head injury?"
He said to cope with a major influx of sick patients, it's predicted Queensland Health would need at least 1500 more hospital beds.
"It takes years to get more hospital beds. That's building another four or five new hospitals with all the cost and staff requirements for that.
"That's not gonna happen in a short amount of time."
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