Did the coronavirus vaccination program in a rural and regional area work? Health outcomes of the vaccination program in Wide Bay
Scott Kitchener A B *A Australian Centre for Health Law Research, Queensland University of Technology, George Street, Brisbane, Qld 4000, Australia.
B Wide Bay Hospital and Health Service, Nissen Street,. Uraween, Qld 4655, Australia.
Australian Health Review 47(1) 119-123 https://doi.org/10.1071/AH22144
Submitted: 13 June 2022 Accepted: 20 December 2022 Published: 19 January 2022
© 2023 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of AHHA. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY).
Abstract
The objective of this case study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the Wide Bay region coronavirus vaccination program in preventing hospitalisation for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Population vaccination data and the vaccination status of patients hospitalised with confirmed COVID-19 have been used to evaluate preventable hospitalisations and risk reduction during and after a 2 month period following the outbreak of COVID-19 in Wide Bay after removal of public health measures in Queensland in December 2021. Wide Bay is a rural region of Queensland including K’Gari (formerly Fraser Island) to the east, the North Burnett farming region in the west and extending from the Fraser Coast to the Discovery Coast. Two local regional hospitals received and managed hospitalised COVID-19 patients. The region had, at this time, 171 365 people 20 years and older eligible for coronavirus vaccination. The risk reduction for hospitalisation of those receiving fewer than two vaccinations, two vaccinations and three vaccinations was calculated to determine the vaccination program effectiveness. The program achieved 90% effectiveness for people with two or more vaccinations (those with two vaccinations and those receiving boosters of third or more vaccination), and 97% effectiveness for those having received three vaccinations, in preventing hospitalisation for COVID-19 during the period. This translated into a significant risk reduction for hospitalisation for those receiving two or more vaccinations, preserving capacity to enable the health service to manage all cases locally.
Keywords: coronavirus vaccination program effectiveness, COVID-19, preventable hospitalisation, regional health service.
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