Indigenous COVID vaccination rates continue to trail behind other parts of the Queensland community, and health experts say the race is now on to prepare for outbreaks following the easing of border rules this week.
Health services working with First Nations people are working to drive up those rates, as are state-mandated rules that will lock non-vaccinated Queenslanders and visitors out of cafes, bars, venues and even some health facilities from Friday.
Kaava Watson is the network director for the Institute of Urban Indigenous Health (UIH) in the state's south east.
The Birri Gubba and Kungalu man said it was now too late to worry about whether the state should risk new COVID cases by opening the border.
"Our attention is now geared towards the actual work that we're going to have to do in terms of supporting our mob through this outbreak," he said.
"Our concern has moved to a sense of urgency — really around the things we need to do to keep mob safe over the coming months, once we start to see community transmission of COVID."
He said that included ensuring there was access to medication, food supplies, and support if people had to isolate.
"COVID has only exposed the generations and years of failure to adequately meet the needs of our people," Mr Watson said.
UIH pushed harder to speed up vaccinations in October, when it released modelling showing that 264 Indigenous lives could be saved if vaccination rates went up by 20 per cent across the south east.
That goal was met earlier this month.
Mr Watson said that achievement was despite long-standing suspicions of the government.
"We know that our mob have a long history, a long history of mistrust, and not a positive relationship with the mainstream health system, as well as the government," he said.
"We don't take our lead from politicians."
Driving up vax rates
Indigenous vaccination rates have been rapidly going up in areas previously considered among the most vulnerable in the country.
The Aboriginal Council of Cherbourg, west of Bundaberg, now has 54 per cent of its community vaccinated — up 23 per cent in one month.
Yarrabah, outside Cairns, once feared it could be locked down due to its critically low vaccination numbers. The community is now just shy of 50 per cent after a 19 per cent increase.
Queensland Health and local health services have been offering vaccinations at yarning circles, football games, and have gone door-to-door to help fortify Indigenous communities.
The Health Department also launched shuttle bus services to help move local vulnerable groups to mass vaccination hubs.
Whose vax figures are the right ones?
In the state's northern outback, Toby Wicks's area of responsibility covers 300,000 square kilometres — an area about the size of Italy.
He is the COVID-19 vaccination coordinator for the North West Hospital and Health Service, which is based in Mt Isa, but covers the entire north-west of the state.
Publicly available figures have the Indigenous vaccination rate for Mount Isa at just 37 per cent, up 11 per cent in four weeks. He estimates they are far higher.
Mr Wicks said his data showed 50 per cent of the Indigenous population aged 16 and over were fully vaccinated in the Mount Isa region, with 80 per cent having had the first dose.
"We've delivered a considerable number of doses through door-to-door initiatives where we have teams of people going into our suburbs," he said.
"Our teams have found it efficient sometimes to go out there and vaccinate households that may have between eight and 10 members available for vaccination at any one time."
He said he was hopeful his sprawling region would hit the 80 per cent fully vaccinated rate within weeks, but said it was no guarantee of safety.
"There is a degree of uncertainty as to what's going to happen," he said.
Rockhampton remains at just 45 per cent fully vaccinated, despite an increase of 14 per cent since mid-November.
The challenges are massive with the wider central Queensland community having the lowest vaccination rate in the country outside of outback areas, at 75.6 per cent.
Health services 'on edge'
Thalep Ahmed from the Bidgerdii Community Health Service is one of those responsible for trying to push up Rockhampton's numbers.
Bidgerdii has been running pop-up clinics wherever it can, and held a 'Deadly Night Out' community event earlier this month that was designed to encourage people to receive their first dose of a vaccine.
Mr Ahmed said Rockhampton was "as prepared as it could be" for a future COVID outbreak, with the health service preparing isolation rooms during last year's lockdowns.
But he said there was still no way of knowing how the virus would move through cities, towns and rural areas.
New Chief Health Officer John Gerrard said on Monday he expected COVID-19 to spread rapidly through the community now that borders had opened.
Dr Gerrard said the state could expect "more than hundreds" of coronavirus cases in the coming months.