The Australian Ministry of Health responded to the allegation by NT Senator Maralundi Limacrcy that inadequate communication by the early federal government of the pandemic was responsible for the low immunization rates of many remote Aboriginal communities.
She believes that a communication failure in the federal vaccination deployment, which Senator Labor made earlier this week, allowed false information from social media to overtake the government’s vaccination message. It is behind the comment.
“As we know, vaccination should have been done earlier this year, and I put it in a lot of communication or misunderstandings across the country,” she told ABC News on Wednesday. ..
She explained in February that she and the Australian Labor Party’s indigenous caucuses had to be briefed by the Federal Health Department about the deployment of indigenous vaccines and asked about communication strategies for more than 100 indigenous Australian communities. Did. The language of the entire territory.
“I believe that the gap in that communication strategy … enabled the social media storm we saw with inaccurate information and messages that caused a very horrifying reaction to vaccination,” she said. Said.
The Epoch Times has contacted the Federal Department of Health (DOH) for comment on McCarthy’s allegations. Unique resource materials were not properly generated and distributed as part of the vaccination deployment strategy.
DOH said in an email reply that it has been coordinating COVID-19 vaccine communications to reach the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders communities since January 2021.
This includes ads tailored to an indigenous audience. For example, since February 2021, DOH has been using English and “up to 15 Aboriginal and Torres Strait languages” through both general and indigenous media such as television, radio, print, digital, out-of-home, and social. We are delivering advertisements at. media. “
Translated ads are aimed at communities where English is not well spoken.
The federal government is also working with trusted indigenous community leaders to provide vaccine-related information in a culturally appropriate manner using Carbon Creative, a professional indigenous-owned communication agency, in this program. Is supported.
In addition, they have a department “For all of usCampaign, Encourages First Australians to Get Vaccinated.
The project features many prominent Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders Australians who have gathered to encourage their mobs to get a recognized COVID-19 vaccination. Model Samantha Harris, musician Baker Boy, and renowned didgeridooist and vocalist William Burton are encouraging further vaccinations and calling for a fight against vaccination hesitation.
Similarly, according to DOH, the federal government has partnered with AFL and NRL to produce videos with indigenous players, including former AFL football star Adam Goodes.
Also, to “ensure that the vaccine message is accurate and reach local and remote communities through reliable Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders organizations”, several indigenous media organizations (to NT). We have signed a partnership agreement with (including two based).
according to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders InstituteAustralia currently has 250 indigenous languages and 800 dialects that are region-specific in the country.
2016 australia Census We have identified two major indigenous languages spoken in the Northern Territory: Kriol and Djambarrpuyngu. Kriol is primarily spoken of in the Katherine region of the Northern Territory, where COVID-19 is currently occurring.
McCarthy’s comments were made after nine members of her family were infected with COVID-19 in the current outbreak in the Northern Territory. All are currently in the Howard Springs Quarantine Facility on the outskirts of Darwin.
so Sky NewIn an interview on Thursday, McCarthy said, “It’s a difficult and uneasy time for them, but their voices are much better.”
follow