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Katie spoke with AMSANT CEO John Paterson about vaccinating the indigenous community · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: Joining me live on the line right now is John Patterson,
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  Speaker 1: who is the CEO of am SAND, the Aboriginal Medical
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  Speaker 1: Services Alliance here in the Northern Territory. Good morning to you, John.
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  Speaker 2: And a very good morning to you Katie. John.
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  Speaker 1: Obviously you heard the Chief Minister's announcement yesterday about the
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  Speaker 1: mandatory vaccines. What was your reaction, Katy?
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  Speaker 2: I must be honestly, I was at the foot Doctor
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  Speaker 2: in the Lives and then I got back to your
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  Speaker 2: office and somebody mentioned that, you know, Patter, you got
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  Speaker 2: to mention. I said, what do you buy it? Anyway,
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  Speaker 2: I've I've sort of seen a bit of the replay
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  Speaker 2: that's on all the social media. Stuffy look, Katie. In
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  Speaker 2: generally just give you an update from am sans Ord
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  Speaker 2: had the opportunity to meet yesterday afternoon post the announcements.
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  Speaker 2: Their positions. They support the road map that was announced
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  Speaker 2: by the Chief Minister yesterday, but with a strong emphasis
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  Speaker 2: that we've got to throw everything. And I've mentioned this
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  Speaker 2: to you previously. We are all concerned with the heasancy
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  Speaker 2: rate that's still out there and in you know, communities
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  Speaker 2: throughout the Northern Territory. We've been working very very hard
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  Speaker 2: and expressing those concerns and messages to the com UP
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  Speaker 2: and nordn Territory government, and you know, we need to
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  Speaker 2: ensure that we get you know, preferably the amsent positions
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  Speaker 2: ninety ninety five percent of the vaccination rate amongst the
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  Speaker 2: indigenous population here in the Northern Territory. And that's purely
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  Speaker 2: because that will include the twelve year old to the
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  Speaker 2: fifteen year old, and also because of the vulnerable you know,
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  Speaker 2: the the high chronic illnesses amongst the indigenous popular and
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  Speaker 2: we just got to go that extra extra level of vaccination, right.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, And I know you've been really firm on that
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  Speaker 1: and said that you want to get you know, right
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  Speaker 1: up there to ninety percent or even ninety five percent.
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  Speaker 1: I guess the situation is though at the moment, you know,
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  Speaker 1: in some of the communities, and I'm not singling any out,
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  Speaker 1: but in some of those communities, we're seeing those rates
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  Speaker 1: incredibly low at the moment.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah, And in fairness, Katie, there are some extremely
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  Speaker 2: numbers numbers that are getting up to around about that
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  Speaker 2: ninety percent in some of our over make communities as well. Look,
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  Speaker 2: we we want to work diligently with territory Health and
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  Speaker 2: all levels of government to identify those communities where their
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  Speaker 2: needs and requires enormous effort and resourcing to get out
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  Speaker 2: there if it takes two or three visits and so beet.
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  Speaker 2: I understand you know that a good approach, community approach,
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  Speaker 2: working with community was done in Managrada, and Manigrada mentioned
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  Speaker 2: that because there's been really positive media around that and
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  Speaker 2: demonstrate the high vaccine take up in that community. But
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  Speaker 2: that was led by community, by the Aboriginal leadership, working
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  Speaker 2: with territory government health permissions and the local Malala Abriginal
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  Speaker 2: workforce and their clinicians, and you know they got the
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  Speaker 2: outcome that they were They were all surprised with that. Yeah,
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  Speaker 2: it was right up there, which is really good airt com.
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  Speaker 2: So there are sorts of strategies and learnings we have
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  Speaker 2: to take to these other communities daddy, And look, this
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  Speaker 2: ain't going to be easy. We want that spread right
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  Speaker 2: across the Northern territory, you know, minimum of eighty percent.
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  Speaker 2: But you know we've just got to keep working hard
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  Speaker 2: to get that.
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  Speaker 1: It's got to happen.
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  Speaker 2: Get vaccinated. I put the call out there, you know
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  Speaker 2: it's we will no doubt experience more delta positi of
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  Speaker 2: casncy in the lordn Territory if it gets in their
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  Speaker 2: communities with the most vulnerable population, will ever devastating effect
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  Speaker 2: an impact. Hence why we you know Am Sence strongly
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  Speaker 2: encourages and puts the call out there to all about
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  Speaker 2: indigenous population in the Lord territory. Please please go and
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  Speaker 2: get vaccinated to protect yourself, your family and your community
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  Speaker 2: under territory.
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  Speaker 1: John spot On, Hey, I want to play a little
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  Speaker 1: bit of audio from Hugh Hegy from that press conference
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  Speaker 1: yesterday and his concerns. Take a listen to what he
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  Speaker 1: had to say.
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  Speaker 3: This is getting to the point of being serious. We
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  Speaker 3: were trending up. Now we're not who's going to take
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  Speaker 3: responsibility for the first death in the territory. Who's going
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  Speaker 3: to take the responsibility of the first Aboriginal death.
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  Speaker 2: In the territory.
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  Speaker 3: I know some of the inf uancers and they are
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  Speaker 3: from the US anti vax lobby and faith organizations. They're
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  Speaker 3: using social media, particularly in average communities, and they've done
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  Speaker 3: this before when we had the measles out right.
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  Speaker 1: John, is that what you're hearing in some communities as well, particularly.
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  Speaker 2: The any vaxing, boxing vexes and you know, any vaccination messages. Yes,
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  Speaker 2: there are groups and we've met, particularly those religious groups
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  Speaker 2: that you know, we're uh expressing some of those and
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  Speaker 2: we understand. Look from my intelligence, it's not the leaders,
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  Speaker 2: but it's some the followers that live in attend communities
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  Speaker 2: that are peddling the smithsinformation and it's not helping with
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  Speaker 2: the overseas you know, social media anti vaxxing messaging as well. Look,
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  Speaker 2: i'd love those big corporate through omos social media platforms
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  Speaker 2: to just put blocks on all of them. Ay, I mean,
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  Speaker 2: that's that's the that's the solution of that. I mean,
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  Speaker 2: this is very unhealthy, you know, to be pelling those
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  Speaker 2: that sort of misinformation. They're not health clinicians, they're not
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  Speaker 2: of experts in this area. They're doing it for their
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  Speaker 2: own interest, in their own personal reasons. And I again
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  Speaker 2: I've mentioned it previously, I called put the call out
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  Speaker 2: there to stop pelling misinformation and allow communities to make
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  Speaker 2: their own decisions.
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  Speaker 1: John, I know for some people out there listening this morning,
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  Speaker 1: they're going to be thinking to themselves. You know, we're
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  Speaker 1: all trying really hard to get to that eighty percent rate.
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  Speaker 1: I know, that you've said ninety to ninety five percent
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  Speaker 1: from your perspective, you know what, like what else can
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  Speaker 1: be done at this point in some of those communities
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  Speaker 1: where you maybe have had anti vaxxers get in there
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  Speaker 1: early and tell some of the local people misinformation. What
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  Speaker 1: can be done now to try and turn it around
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  Speaker 1: in some of those communities.
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  Speaker 2: Well, Katie, I'm not sure if you're aware, but the
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  Speaker 2: COMALK have identified four priority areas now East Darnham, the
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  Speaker 2: Berkley Region, Darwin and Palmerston and the Outer Region and
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  Speaker 2: the Yellow Springs and Outer regions. So those regions we'd
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  Speaker 2: like to also and I've got to talk to the
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  Speaker 2: CONMAALCT to now include Catherine because the Catton region there's
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  Speaker 2: still pockets of lower rates there, so we want to
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  Speaker 2: include the Catton region in the priority area. But look, Katie,
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  Speaker 2: we ain't going to give up. We will continue to
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  Speaker 2: use innovative, creative messaging presserly local and community designed and developed,
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  Speaker 2: getting our elders, getting you know, local community mob to
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  Speaker 2: get in there and encourage their families and broader communities
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  Speaker 2: to get vaccinated because this, you know, the Delta virus.
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  Speaker 2: I've said this on many occasions to get into our communities.
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  Speaker 2: It will have a devastating impact and you know we
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  Speaker 2: should all be aiming for for it not to get
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  Speaker 2: into our communities. We've done really well, you know, terto
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  Speaker 2: and should be very proud of themselves for what we've
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  Speaker 2: achieved to say, and we've just got to keep that
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  Speaker 2: same measure of commitment and working with each other and
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  Speaker 2: doing everything in our powers to get all tertoy and
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  Speaker 2: vaccinated so that we can continue to you know, enjoy
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  Speaker 2: the freedom that we have. I mean, you know, I'd
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  Speaker 2: hate us to be in a position like this in
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  Speaker 2: the in the Melbourne where there's you know, long periods
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  Speaker 2: of lockdown and if we do get you know, one
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  Speaker 2: thing that the Aboriginal Community Control Sector police supports if
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  Speaker 2: there's positive cases in the territory, we need to move
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  Speaker 2: very quickly and you know, put the appropriate measures in
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  Speaker 2: place to get on top of or tracing and testing.
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  Speaker 2: You know, if you do get as positive TASC here
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  Speaker 2: in the Northern Territory.
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  Speaker 1: Well, John Patterson, the CEO of am SAND, I always
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  Speaker 1: appreciate your time, appreciate your honesty there as well. About
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  Speaker 1: the foot doctor, you crack me up. I'm good to
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  Speaker 1: speak to you this morning. I hope your feed.
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  Speaker 2: Are all right mate, I'm the way to recovery. Good
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  Speaker 2: on your pad.
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  Speaker 1: I will talk to you again, sir, and thank you