Health minister blasts anti-vax 'mistruths' about Covid deaths
Queensland’s Health Minister has blasted a number of anti-vax “mistruths” as the Sunshine State suffered its deadliest Covid-19 day yet.
There were 18 deaths recorded in Queensland from people with coronavirus on Friday with 9974 new cases.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the deaths included one person in their 30s who was unvaccinated and 12 people in aged care. Queensland's double dose vaccination rate currently sits at 89.33 per cent.
The state’s health minister Yvette D’Ath told reporters on Friday despite the fact only six of the 18 deaths were unvaccinated, it was not an indication of the “mistruth” that vaccines don’t work.
"This is the figure people need to understand: The unvaccinated population only makes up eight per cent of all eligible Queenslanders,” she said.
"But currently they're (the unvaccinated) making up 20 to 30 per cent of our deaths. That's the rate.
"We are seeing a higher rate if you're unvaccinated compared to the rest of the population. This reinforces why vaccinations are so important."
Currently there are 818 people in Queensland hospitals with the virus, 54 of whom are in intensive care.
Admissions have been dropping in the state, predominantly because of a decrease on the Gold Coast, Chief Health Officer John Gerrard said.
"We haven't yet begun to see a clear fall in the rest of Queensland," he said, describing the situation across the state as stable.
Friday’s death rate wasn’t just the worst for Queensland but also Australia’s deadliest, with 98 people across the country diagnosed with coronavirus recorded in the national death toll.
NSW and Victoria recorded 35 and 39 deaths respectively.
Brad Hazzard, NSW Health Minister, implored residents on Thursday to come forward for booster shots.
Mr Hazzard said 100,000 appointments were wasted last week.
“The numbers of boosters are not what we need them to be to keep people safe, that’s the bottom line,” he told reporters.
with AAP
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