Coronavirus in Victoria: The reasons why people baulked until lockdown returned

Professor Richard Osborne the director of Swinburne University's Centre for Global Health and Equity said people should remember our national history with vaccines.

"Australia has been a leading country in the implementation of vaccines eliminating smallpox and polio here. We should be very proud of that. We certainly have the capacity to do the same thing with our current pandemic"

The Victorian Department of Health has a timeline that shows smallpox vaccine came from England in 1804. Since then vaccines for diphtheria, polio, measles rubella, mumps, flu just to name a few have been introduced

"They absolutely do save lives, reduce costs, and make whole communities safer so that's what vaccines do."

Professor Osborne who specializes in health literacy described as people's ability to understand, access and use health information and that's the responsibility of Governments and health agencies.

The expert said there are several reasons why the vaccination rate has been slow over recent months.

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COMMUNICATIONS and COMMUNITIES

Communications campaigns have missed the mark.

"It's actually been breaking my heart that the communications have been very, very top down from Government agencies, some glossy ads and glossy TV," he said.

He said the campaign had not reached the vulnerable people who need it most, the working poor from diverse groups.

"They are just working so hard every day for their families they're the most vulnerable, in the aged care sector so underpaid, so many people on casual, tenuous jobs having to work. They haven't been supported in a way to keep the whole community safe."

Professor Osborne said local community leaders such as elders, faith leaders, netball captains, footy club presidents or workmate gatherings can take leadership into their communities but need support from governments and businesses to encourage their groups to be vaccinated.

"It's at that level we're going to make a difference not from Premiers and Prime Ministers sort of talking down to us, it's got to come from within the community up, if we're going to get us quickly enough to good vaccine rates."

SOCIAL MEDIA

The professor says social media has muddied the message where misinformation on vaccines can thrive.

"A lot of people perhaps are only looking at Facebook pages and there's algorithms which support people to see only certain points of view given their choices in the past. They actually don't get to see much of the balanced information."

"They actually are in an echo chamber. They don't know they can't see that and that's fair enough because it's a complex issue and no-one's explained it to them. And there's no checks and balances for society around that sort of thing."

SOCIETY CHANGES

50 years ago, The Courier ran large ads ordering people to compulsory x-rays across Ballarat to fight another major respiratory disease, tuberculosis.

In 1971, if people aged 21 or over didn't front, they were fined $40, a substantial sum for the times. Also housewives were asked to go during the day to help avoid night crowding.

Professor Osborne previous generations came through wars and social upheavals which shaped their attitudes towards health care.

"Health care was seen as a privilege and an opportunity , certainly the community jumped at the opportunity for free services and free prevention through vaccines."

But time has moved on and health attitudes have changed.

He said a complacency during good times has seen attitudes shift. People haven't had to think at a community level for quite some time.

"Perhaps we are increasing to a much more individualistic society. So people think I can make that choice for myself."

HERD IMMUNITY.

Professor Osborne says the vaccine take up has been too slow and it so easy for the virus to go rampant. So a very high proportion of the community needs to be vaccinated.

"We won't be able to travel particularly safely we absolutely have to move towards herd immunity or as close to as we can so we are not able to spread the disease very quickly at all."

AN APPEAL.

The professor ,who is also an adviser to the World Health Organisation has a simple appeal for Australians.

"Just keep preserving on getting through the lines, State Governments, the hospitals, the Federal Government are setting up as quickly as they can, easier and better ways for you to get a vaccine."

"No-one is protected until you protect yourself we can all be a carrier we can all spread the disease anytime."