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“You’re telling us to go first?!” COVID-19 pandemic and vaccination experiences among Aboriginal adults in Western Australia

Globally, Indigenous populations have been disproportionately impacted by pandemics. In Australia, though national infection rates with COVID-19 infections in Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people were lower in the first 12 months of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was soon a greater burden in Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Island people once Omicron was circulating. Uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine was also lower among Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people.

Citation:
Carlson SJ, Puca C, Wood-Kenney P, Kickett J, Swift V, Attwell K, Blyth CC. “You’re telling us to go first?!” COVID-19 pandemic and vaccination experiences among Aboriginal adults in Western Australia. Hum Soc Sci Comm. 2025;12(1).

Keywords:
Anthropology; Cultural and media studies; Health humanities; Social policy

Abstract:
Globally, Indigenous populations have been disproportionately impacted by pandemics. In Australia, though national infection rates with COVID-19 infections in Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people were lower in the first 12 months of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was soon a greater burden in Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Island people once Omicron was circulating. Uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine was also lower among Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people.