Vaccine success and challenges in northern Australia

Abstract

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living in rural and remote Australia have lower vaccine coverage rates and experience higher rates of notification and hospitalisations for vaccine preventable diseases than non-Aboriginal people. This paper explores important public health and research activities being undertaken in the Northern Territory to reduce this disparity in vaccine program performance, with a particular focus on rotavirus, meningococcal, human papilloma virus and COVID-19 vaccines.

Keywords

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
• COVID-19
• human papilloma virus
• immunisation
• meningococcal
• Northern Territory