We've vaxxed Canberra, next the world

As of Tuesday 95 per cent of Canberrans had received their first dose and a whopping 89.3 per cent were fully vaxxed. It is only a matter of time before the ambitious 95 per cent fully vaccinated target set by the Chief Minister is reached; possibly next week.

That said, this city can't rest on its laurels. Even at 95 per cent there will still be about 20,000 unvaccinated people in the ACT (not counting the under-12s). That is a lot of vulnerable people, many of whom are members of at-risk cohorts including the Indigenous community and public housing residents.

This is why it makes eminent sense for the ACT government to devote even more resources to vaccination clinics in areas such as the inner north and the often out-of-sight, out-of-mind Oaks Estate.

First dose coverage in Oaks Estate, Fyshwick and Symonston stands at just 57.8 per cent of people 15 and up. That's almost 40 per cent lower than the ACT average.

Looking around the nation there are still serious discrepancies between states and territories and, as in the ACT, within parts of each jurisdiction.

While NSW has done well with 93 per cent of people now having had a first dose and 85 per cent of people fully vaxxed, there are still many regional areas where the numbers are much lower.

The same goes for Victoria where 90.8 per cent of people have had their first shot and 75.9 per cent have had their second.

Elsewhere the situation is dire with slow vaccination take up rates in Queensland, South Australia, the Northern Territory and Western Australia likely to mean some state borders could remain closed into the new year.

Indigenous vaccination rates in all of these jurisdictions are unacceptably low. This suggests there has been a lack of a sense of urgency on the part of those managing the health response despite what happened in western NSW.

It is vital these states and territories catch up. The rest of the country is moving into the next phase of the pandemic response. While the battle against coronavirus has not been won, the vaccines have been to us what the Battle of El Alamein was to Winston Churchill; if not the beginning of the end at least the end of the beginning.

Queensland has set a date to reopen and South Australia is moving in the same direction. Victoria, the ACT and NSW all have their own roadmaps that will soon see the return of international travel, international students, citizens trapped abroad and even tourists.

This opening up to the rest of the world is a timely remember vaccination is not just about us. While Australia has been obsessing over the Prime Minister's trip to Glasgow it is important to note it is his second destination.

The first is Rome where he will attend a meeting of the G20 on October 30 and 31. An important item on the agenda is the G20 commitment, made at the health ministers' summit in September to prioritise the global vaccination effort.

Although more than 9.3 billion doses of vaccine have been produced, only 3.3 billion of the world's 5.8 billion have had a shot. The vast majority of the unprotected 2.5 billion live in the developing world.

The World Health Organisation wants every country to have at least 40 per cent of its population vaccinated by the end of the year.

That can only happen if all the members of the G20 - including Australia - ramp up their efforts in this area. It's actually in our best interest as, given the virus's ability to evolve, nobody is safe until everybody is safe.

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