Month: February 2021

The next phase of the Australian Government’s $31 million public information campaign begins today to inform Australians, with the vaccination program underway.
At the end of Friday after four full days of operation and Monday as a setup day, almost 30,000 Australians had been vaccinated, including 8,110 aged care and disability residents throughout 117 care facilities.
Both the state and territory teams alongside the aged care in-reach teams are ramping up their operations, with more vaccines being distributed across the country in the next week.
The initial advertising campaign, which launched on 27 January 2021, focused on informing the Australian community about the Therapeutic Goods Administration’s world-leading independent approval process.
The second round builds on these safety messages and informs the community about Phase 1a of the vaccination program rollout, which prioritises those who are the most at risk of serious illness from the virus.
The advertising is important, so people understand how the vaccination program is operating, how they can find out when it will be their turn and answer any questions they have about the vaccines. They can go to Australia.gov.au and use the Vaccine Eligibility Checker to confirm which phase of the rollout they will be in.
The campaign will continue to run across a variety of channels, starting with television, and continuing on radio, press, digital, social, mobile, search and in medical settings and shopping centres including billboards and signs.
There are two advertisements, one which is animated, and a second which features a registered nurse, Melanie, who explains the rollout and the current priority groups.
Special committees representing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, people with a disability and the multicultural communities are consulted regularly to ensure messaging is clear, appropriate and disseminated through the best communication channels to reach all people in Australia.

A 2020 report on organ and tissue donation and transplantation shows that despite the significant impact of COVID-19, around 4,000 Australians benefitted from the gift of organ, eye, and tissue donation from a deceased donor.
The Minister responsible for the Organ and Tissue Authority, Mark Coulton, said the 2020 Australian Donation and Transplantation Activity Report confirms Australian generosity and willingness to give complete strangers a second chance through organ and tissue donation.
“This report shows that even when the chips are down and a global pandemic interrupts the national transplant program, Australian generosity shines through.
“Last year, despite the pandemic, some 1,644 Australians’ death provided the gift of life and sight to another Australian,” Minister Coulton said.
“We are very grateful to these Australians and their families for making organ, eye, and tissue donations possible.”
The report, released today, shows 1,270 Australian lives were saved through an organ transplant in 2020, due to the generosity of 463 deceased organ donors and their families. The report also shows 2,277 Australians received corneal transplants in 2020 from 1,318 donors.
“A corneal transplant can make a remarkable difference to someone’s quality of life.
“More than 23,500 Australians have thankfully received the gift of sight since the national program began in 2009,” Minister Coulton said.
Minister Coulton said it is important to also recognise the great power of tissue donation.
“Whether they gave heart valves to repair genetic defects in young children or skin grafts to help treat infection and trauma, the 290 deceased tissue donors in 2020 made a great difference to many lives.
“Last year, 182 living donors improved the lives of another Australian; predominantly by donating kidneys and in one case, a partial liver.
“Living donors make an incredibly generous sacrifice to improve the life of someone else.
“Organ transplants are not without risk to those who donate, and their act of kindness mustn’t be understated,” Minister Coulton said.
Last year, just 29 kidney transplants took place in Australia from living donors through the Australia and New Zealand Paired Kidney Exchange Program. This figure represents a 42 per cent drop compared to 2019.
Organ and Tissue Authority CEO, Lucinda Barry, said 2020 outcomes were primarily impacted by the program’s suspension due to COVID-19 concerns in early-March, with the program gradually returning in earnest from September.
“The reality is there were 210 fewer kidney transplants across living and deceased transplant programs, mostly due to the impact of transplant program suspensions,” Ms Barry said.
“These suspensions were a responsible reaction to concerns within the health sector for hospital capacity and transplant patient welfare as the global pandemic took hold in Australia.”
Minister Coulton said the report once again demonstrates the need for more Australians to discuss donation with their friends and family and to register as a donor.
“We need all Australians to talk about organ and tissue donation, to understand what they and their loved ones wish, and to register to become a donor at donatelife.gov.au,” Mr Coulton said.
“It takes less than a minute.”
The 2020 Australia Donation and Transplantation Activity Report is available at:  donatelife.gov.au/outcomes.

Federal Labor congratulates Queensland on its bid to host the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games being named as the International Olympic Committee’s preferred candidate.
The Queensland bid will now be the only one in targeted discussions with the IOC, making Australia a clear favourite to continue its proud history of successfully hosting major international sporting events.
From the 1956 Melbourne Olympics to Sydney 2000, five Commonwealth Games and numerous world championships, Australia has proven we know how to set the stage and deliver world-class sporting events on a global scale.
New International Olympic Committee (IOC) hosting guidelines mean prospective Games hosts can reduce costs and use existing infrastructure.
A Queensland Olympics would deliver jobs, accelerate infrastructure development, and provide a boost to a tourism, trade and the economy, which have been hit hard by the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
If Queensland’s bid is successful, the 10-year lead-in to the 2032 Games would provide a great platform to engaging a generation of Australian kids in sport and help boost participation so more can enjoy the health benefits of an active lifestyle.
Federal Labor looks forward to continuing to work with the Queensland State Government, Council of Mayors South East Queensland, Australian Olympic Committee, Paralympics Australia, Federal Government, and other key stakeholders towards a successful bid and the benefits to be realised for sport, tourism, infrastructure, trade and the economy.

Rural and Indigenous health experts are meeting regularly to ensure rural communities continue to be central to the phased rollout of Australia’s COVID-19 vaccine.
The Remote Vaccine Working Group will provide advice to the Federal Government and identify issues as the rollout continues towards Phase 1B and beyond.
Federal Regional Health Minister, Mark Coulton said the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines to every corner of the country was complex and that was why the Federal Government had a plan and was listening to expert advice from rural health stakeholders.
“COVID-19 case numbers in rural and remote areas have been low, but the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine into regional, rural and remote communities is a vital part of the Government’s vaccine strategy to ensure everyone in Australia is protected,” Minister Coulton said.
“The TGA has found the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines to be safe, they are free, and you’ll be able to receive your vaccination near where you live.”
The vaccine demonstrates it will stop people becoming very sick – keeping them off ventilators and out of hospital.
Minister Coulton said the Working Group – made up of the Commonwealth Department of Health, the National Indigenous Australians Agency and state and territory agencies – draws on expertise from health representatives. Many of the health experts have also participated in Rural and Remote Health Roundtable chaired by the Minister since the start of the pandemic.
“The leadership and expertise of these professionals provide important voices to the Working Group to ensure the rollout is done in genuine partnership and enables all rural Australians to be vaccinated close to where they live.”
Minister Coulton said the rural health workforce and representative bodies had been integral in managing the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We commend the efforts of our doctors, nurses, midwives, pharmacists and allied health workers in rural and remote areas,” Minister Coulton said.
“We genuinely appreciate the ongoing leadership of the rural health sector, and we are in this enviable position because of the care and advice this sector has provided us over the past year.”
The Australian Government is working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Controlled Health Services, general practices, state and territory governments, Primary Health Networks, GP-led respiratory clinics and community pharmacies to ensure that Australians living in regional, rural and remote locations have access to a COVID-19 vaccination if they so choose.