Outback Councils Deploy Tech to Tackle COVID-19

A coalition of more than twenty outback Queensland councils are working together to achieve maximum COVID 19 vaccination rates by providing their community with a clear picture of their regions vaccination uptake. 

The Western Queensland Alliance of Councils has developed and launched a digital dashboard which uses Queensland Health data to show vaccination rates for each local government. 

WQAC represents 22 local government areas across 60% of Queensland, which has 46 thousand residents eligible for vaccination. 

Balonne Shire Council Mayor and Chair of South West Regional Organisation of Councils, Samantha O’Toole explains the region is working together to get the best results. 

“If our residents know how many others in their community are getting vaccinated, they will be much more likely to do the right thing themselves, so we are throwing our support behind the vaccination push by encouraging all eligible residents to get vaccinated as soon as practical,” Councillor O’Toole said. 

The dashboard also shows the proportion of those who have been fully vaccinated with two doses compared to those who have received the initial injection. 

Vaccination rates in the region range from more than 70% to 43% with Blackall-Tambo Regional Council having the highest rate at 71%. 

“It’s important we protect our most vulnerable communities that are long distances from substantial medical facilities, we can do that by getting as many locals as possible vaccinated as soon they can,” said Jack Bawden, Mayor of Carpentaria Shire Council and Chair of North West Queensland Regional Organisation of Councils. 

WQAC has taken this proactive step to ensure the community has current reliable information about Queensland Health’s vaccination roll out because they know a better-informed community will result in higher vaccination rates. 

“Not only is it critical for our community to protect their health, protecting the region’s economy from the impacts of COVID-19 particularly on our tourism sector is paramount,” Longreach Regional Council Mayor and Chair of Remote Area Planning and Development Board Tony Rayner said. 

The dashboard is available for anyone to access on the WQAC (wqac.com.au), SWQROC (swqroc.com.au), RAPAD (rapad.com.au) and NWQROC (nwqroc.com.au) websites. 

The WQAC would like to thank and acknowledge the work carried out by Brisbane firm GWI to create this dashboard as one of their corporate social responsibility projects.