Congratulations again to all of you for playing such an essential role in achieving such remarkably high vaccination rates in NSW and ACT. As a result of our combined efforts, all fully vaccinated people have been able to resume a ‘COVID-normal’ life, and case numbers and hospitalisations have dropped significantly.

Despite this overall success, we still need to address vaccination gaps in vulnerable communities. One particularly vulnerable population is our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community, which is lagging well behind the broader population statistics. The reasons for this are complex and include distrust of a health system that can be culturally unsafe and misinformation about the side effects and risks of the vaccine.

To help address vaccine hesitancy, the NSW Agency for Clinical Innovation has co-designed an excellent resource to support culturally safe decision-making with and for First Nations people. You can access Finding your way, a shared decision-making model for the mob, to make health decisions together. The model consists of question-prompts for conversations with patients and short videos by Aboriginal health workers.

I strongly recommend you access these resources to lower the number of infections in these vulnerable communities and protect them from the very high risk that COVID-19 presents. And while you’re on the Agency for Clinical Innovation (ACI) website, take a look at some of the other handy resources for GPs that are available free of charge!

A COVID- and lockdown-free Christmas is looking highly probable – particularly if we all continue to maintain the public health recommendations. We’ll need to continue using masks, hand hygiene and social distancing in the clinical setting (and in public). And, of course, the ongoing vaccination effort – both for the vaccine-hesitant and the rollout of boosters for everyone.

Please take care of yourselves and each other, and I look forward to delivering more positive news next month