Remote Aboriginal communities are continuing to battle COVID-19 vaccine misinformation, primarily being spread by some religious groups and people making false claims online, according to Indigenous leaders.
Kurungal Council oversees three communities near Fitzroy Crossing in Western Australia's Kimberley region, including Wangkatjungka, Ngumpan and Kupartiya with a total combined population of about 300 people.
The council's chief executive Sharon Bieundurry says while people are aware of COVID-19, they are not taking the necessary precautions regarding face masks, social distancing and limiting movement between communities.
Recently, the region recorded its first cases since the pandemic began in 2020.
And with the recent reopening of the WA border, Ms Bieunduury is concerned about an increase in cases, as vaccination rates in Wangkatjungka, Ngumpan and Kupartiya sit at about 40 per cent.
Ms Bieundurry said Nindilingarri Cultural Health Services handed out brochures last year and have run COVID-19 vaccination clinics, but most of the work communicating the benefits of the vaccines is being done by community members.
"There are concerned people in the community who are communicating with them saying, 'these are the dangers, this is why we need to get everyone vaccinated'," she said.
However, Ms Bieundurry said, fear and misinformation had taken hold in the community.
"It's all about the fear of what they see and what they watch instead of listening to what the doctors are saying, professionals, GPs and people from the health department," she said.
Christian groups spread conspiracies
Last year the ABC reported that videos and emails from American-based preachers — stating that COVID-19 vaccines were the work of Satan — were circulating through Christian communities in WA's outback.
The Australian Prayer Network was also identified to be spreading conspiracy theories about the vaccines.
Ms Bieundurry says health services and community leaders are still battling misinformation coming from overseas-based Christian groups, who are spreading their messages via social media.
Ms Bieundurry said she needed support from medical professionals to break down complicated information about the vaccines and explain how they work in the body.
The council contacted the Department of Health late last year seeking that support but are yet to hear back.
She said the community faced language barriers which meant visual aids would be needed to convey the information clearly.
"Show that on a plan with a picture and say 'this is what happens, this is how it affects people', and what the vaccine does to protect you," she said.
"Take the fear away from them so they know this is the true story about it."
Calls for help unanswered
WA Vaccine Commander Gary Dreibergs said he planned on personally visiting Wangkatjungka in the coming months as part of a campaign to get Aboriginal people vaccinated.
Deputy Police Commissioner Dreibergs recently visited remote Aboriginal communities in the Kimberley with "significantly lower" vaccination rates.
During a visit, he was accompanied by one of the state's top epidemiologists Paul Effler, a team of police officers and former AFL players Simon Eastaugh and Roger Hayden ran a football clinic.
Deputy Commissioner Dreibergs said the current vaccination rate for Aboriginal people in WA was about 78 per cent for the first dose and 70 per cent for the second dose.
He said the overall vaccination rates in the Kimberley region was 80 per cent for the second dose and 47 per cent for the third dose.
Isolation blamed for misinformation
Deputy Commissioner Dreibergs said he was aware of misinformation and vaccine hesitancy amongst Aboriginal communities which he attributed to challenges with access to information.
"The bottom line is they're isolated," he said.
"In Perth or even in the larger regional locations you can just walk in and get information readily but they don't get the value of having lots of different doctors so they can go and see.
"They have limited access to the services that you have in larger areas."
Deputy Commissioner Dreibergs said he sent staff to the Fitzroy Valley this week to get feedback from the communities about what type of support they might need.
He said he hoped the contact with communities would help put people at ease.
"That's why we have to give people confidence, we have to visit people and we have to make sure that they're comfortable.
"If there is hesitancy we can't ignore that, we have to work with the community, we have to speak to the community and we have to work through the issues so that we can do the best we can to make sure that people get vaccinated."
