Anger as slow vaccine rollout leaves western NSW Aboriginal communities exposed to Covid

Indigenous elders fear Delta variant could take hold in the state's far west, where vaccination rates are among the lowest in Australia

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State and federal health departments have been accused of leaving Aboriginal communities of western NSW as sitting ducks" for a major Covid outbreak with vaccination rates in the region among the lowest in the nation.

Less than 20% of the Aboriginal population aged 16 and over in western NSW had received one dose of any vaccine, and only 8% were fully vaccinated, according to the peak body representing Aboriginal community-controlled health organisations, Naccho.