A health expert warns Indigenous people infected with COVID-19 may be missing out on crucial treatment, as reporting systems struggle to keep up with soaring case numbers.
Jason Agostino, medical adviser to the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO), said First Nations people had been more likely to be infected, and more likely to develop a severe illness, throughout the pandemic.
"If we look at infections in NSW and the ACT, almost one in 10 people who were infected through Delta were Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people," he told 7.30.
"When we look at severity in each age group, Aboriginal people were more likely to be hospitalised or end up in ICU."
But Dr Agostino said since Omicron has taken hold, health authorities no longer had a clear picture of how Indigenous people were being impacted.
"The reporting systems in most states are overwhelmed and, because of that, people aren't recording Indigenous status," he said.
"We recommend in lots of settings that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people receive certain treatments earlier and at younger ages, and without the system identifying that person as Indigenous, there's a risk they won't be able to access that therapy.
"This isn't some problem with counting numbers and spreadsheets — this is about patient care and it's really being impacted by a lack of action."
Dr Agostino said the Indigenous health sector had for years been calling on pathology companies to record Indigenous status on pathology forms and forward that information on to public health units, but many were yet to adopt the practice.
When it comes to reporting rapid antigen test (RATs) results, only Victoria and New South Wales have mechanisms to record Indigenous status.
Several Aboriginal health services have also reported a shortage of RATs, despite longstanding calls for state and federal government to supply the testing kits to help protect healthcare staff and patients and ease the strain on PCR testing programs.
A spokesperson for the federal health department said it was working with NACCHO to "plan and prioritise efficient delivery" of RATs free of charge to Aboriginal community-controlled health services for the purpose of screening their workforce.
'Urgency' in community to get vaccinated
Following the reopening of state and territory borders, Omicron is putting health systems and vaccination rates to the test as the virus infiltrates the far reaches of Queensland and the Northern Territory.
Indigenous vaccination rates vary between regions and have actually outpaced double-dose rates within the broader population among over 50s.
"That's why we haven't seen the deaths that we were fearing, and that high level of vaccination has already saved many, many lives," Dr Agostino said.
But while some communities have fully vaccinated almost all eligible residents, in others, most are completely unprotected.
There are now more than 120 cases in the Indigenous community of Palm Island, off the coast of Townsville, where only about half the eligible population is double dosed.
Aged care residents have been evacuated to the mainland, and a temporary morgue was sent to the island following a grim warning from health authorities that the community could lose up to 60 people to the virus.
Local resident Harry Reuben said several friends and relatives had changed their minds about getting vaccinated since the outbreak began.
"I think a lot of people, due to misinformation and past trauma, were very reluctant to receive their vaccination," he said.
"[Now] there's a bit of urgency around the community and people are lining up to get the vaccine, getting swabs done and just doing their part, which is a very encouraging sign."
Similarly, double-dose rates in the central desert community of Yuendumu in the Northern Territory have jumped from 35 per cent to 65 per cent since it detected its first COVID-19 cases a fortnight ago.
The surge followed comments from NT Deputy Chief Health Minister Nicole Manison last week in which she lamented the "disappointing" turnout for vaccinations in the town.
Yuendumu community member Samara Fernandez-Brown said the comments were unfair.
"I've seen how hard the elders and community members are working to push [vaccination rates up] and I think it's really disheartening to get those kinds of comments from people that are not in the community to actually see the efforts that are taking place," she said.
"So much blame has been put on community … it's just such a kick in the guts to say the least."
Ms Fernandez-Brown, who was recently named NAIDOC's 2021 Youth of the Year, said she had expected the community to be placed under lockdown after the virus was detected.
She said there was confusion around the current health advice within the 800-strong population and many residents had not yet been tested for the virus.
"We're constantly being told that, 'We would love to do this, but we don't have the resources,'" she said.
"It's frightening and you feel alone, and you don't feel supported by the government right now."
NT Health, which is already battling staff shortages, deployed a rapid-response team in the early days of the outbreak, but it was on a smaller scale than responses to previous remote outbreaks, in which large teams were sent to test all residents and hundreds of COVID-positive people were evacuated to quarantine facilities.
NT Chief Health Officer Hugh Heggie said the response in Yuendumu was "entirely appropriate".
"This will be our approach in the future when it comes to communities," he said.
As Omicron cases continue to multiply within remote communities across the country, Dr Agostino said health responses should be community driven.
"Throughout the pandemic we've asked the governments to listen to the local community," he said.
"Where there is a community that thinks it's in their best interests to lock down, we want government to support that."
Watch this 7.30 story on ABC iview.
