Disability organisation Achieve Australia has launched a Covid vaccination campaign for staff in a bid to ramp up a commitment to keep vulnerable clients safe.
According to Achieve Australia CEO, Jo-Anne Hewitt, pictured, there is widespread frustration amongst staff and the disability sector that the government’s promise 18 months ago to arrange early mass vaccinations for those working with vulnerable people, including people with disability, has not materialised.
Hewitt said the overall lack of community vaccination nationally means organisations like Achieve are still operating with a high level of precaution that directly impacts the quality of life for clients who are isolating to stay safe from Covid when there are high numbers of community transmission.
Achieve Australia, like many other disability service providers, has been promoting staff vaccination for months but with access lagging decided to launch its own dedicated internal vaccination campaign.
“Our campaign encourages all staff to get vaccinated as soon as possible to protect themselves, our clients and our colleagues and already we have seen a significant increase in the number of staff vaccinated which is encouraging,” she said.
“Some clients who can travel outside their home have vaccination dates and appointments with doctors and at vaccination hubs, but this isn’t ideal for some vulnerable clients who are unable to travel to a vaccination hub.
This includes many people with disability and complex needs that Achieve Australia support at locations across Greater Sydney and despite continued and focused efforts to secure onsite vaccination for these people, they remain unvaccinated.”