Residents are tested for COVID-19 at a pop-up clinic at Indooroopilly State High School,the centre of the state’s latest outbreak and within an area boasting one of the highest vaccination rates in the country.

Residents are tested for COVID-19 at a pop-up clinic at Indooroopilly State High School,the centre of the state’s latest outbreak and within an area boasting one of the highest vaccination rates in the country.Credit:Jono Searle/Getty Image

Operation COVID Shield data,released for the first time on Tuesday,showed the region extending out to Pullenvale and Upper Brookfield had the eighth-highest portion of fully vaccinated people aged 15 and older nationwide as of August 1.

It ranked 21st among the 107 other statistical regions included in the breakdown for its portion of the eligible population who had received a single dose of a vaccine,at 46.2 per cent. Just seven across the country have surpassed 50 per cent.

At a state level,Brisbane’s inner-city was next at 21.9 per cent fully vaccinated,while the Mackay,Isaac and Whitsunday region was reporting only one-in-10 — the second-lowest rate nationwide behind the northern Western Australian Outback region.

The Logan and Beaudesert region,among the 11 south-east Queensland local government areaslocked down until 4pm on Sunday,was next on the national list with 13.2 per cent fully vaccinated.

Central Queensland (14.7 per cent) and Ipswich (15.7 per cent and also subject to lockdown orders) also have some of the lowest vaccination rates nationwide,both below that of Outback Queensland (16.1 per cent).

Beyond the Brisbane area,islands of higher rates exist in the Sunshine Coast (21.2 per cent),Townsville (19.1 per cent),Cairns (21.2 per cent) and Toowoomba (18 per cent) regions.

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While the country’s vaccine rollout has so far prioritised older age groups outside key workforces,St Lucia in Brisbane’s west has one of the youngest median ages at 24.5. Bribie Island and Cooloola,with one of the highest at 60.6,fell within the northern Moreton Bay region’s vaccination rate of 18.5 per cent.

Vaccinations do not stop people being able to contract and transmit coronavirus,but reduce the risk along with that of developing serious illness. People who have been vaccinated are also less likely to develop symptoms,meaning it can be harder to know if a person has become infected without a test.

The data showed wealthy pockets of Sydney and Melbournehad some of the country’s highest vaccination rates,while poorer parts of Sydney hit hardest by the latest outbreak in that state were among the lowest in NSW.

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