A startling graph has shown barely half of Australians between the ages of 60 and 69 have received their first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Monday night praised the fact 8.25million doses of the jab had now been administered across Australia.
But the bar chart he shared with the announcement showed only 50.8 per cent of women and 49.7 per cent of men between the age of 60 and 64 have received at least one dose since May 9.
The vaccination rates during the bungled rollout were barely higher for those aged 65 to 69, with only 57.9 per cent of men and women partially vaccinated against the respiratory virus.
Since the beginning of the rollout in February, more Australians in their 50s have received both doses - 7.5 per cent for ages 50 to 54 and 7.2 per cent for 55 to 59 - than Australians in their 60s.
The latest data - which is updated up to July 4 - comes after months of government advice expressing doubt about the safety of the AstraZeneca vaccine after the jab was linked to extremely rare incidents of blood clots.
Barely half of Australians between the ages of 60 and 69 have received their first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, new government figures for May-July showed on Monday night
Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Monday night had lauded the fact 8.25million doses of the jab had now been administered across the country, but the latest vaccination figures show a troubling reality for Australians in their 60s
The federal government in April first advised its citizens aged under 50 to get the Pfizer rather than the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Last month, Scott Morrison announced anyone over the age of 18 could receive the AstraZeneca jab in a bid to accelerate Australia's fledgling vaccine rollout.
But that revised strategy was undermined by Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk then urging her state's citizens under the age of 60 to avoid the UK-developed vaccine.
Figures for the entire rollout also showed more Australians between 40 and 49-years-old - 12.3 per cent for ages 40 to 44 and 14.1 per cent for 45 to 49 - had been fully vaccinated than any age group under 70.
The data was released after it emerged a man working with vulnerable elderly residents at an aged care home is refusing to get vaccinated against Covid, despite a spike in cases in Sydney and a relentlessly-growing list of exposure sites spreading across the city.
Jabs are being made mandatory for everyone working in aged care and hotel quarantine settings, with the majority of Australia's coronavirus deaths being in nursing homes.
More Australians in their 50s have received both doses - 7.5 per cent for ages 50 to 54 and 7.2 per cent for 55 to 59 - than Australians in their 60s. Pictured is a registered nurse receiving a Covid-19 vaccine in Townsville, central Queensland in March
A man working with vulnerable elderly residents at an aged care home is refusing to get vaccinated against Covid (pictured, healthcare workers transport a person into a patient transport vehicle at the Arcare Aged Care facility)
Out of 35 new cases in New South Wales on Monday, two were residents at SummitCare aged care home in Baulkham Hills, taking the cluster to five.
But one aged care worker, known only as Drew, said he and many others in the industry are fiercely opposed to the move, and says he feels 'coerced' by the federal government's new policy.
Health chiefs have continuously explained that unless the vaccination rate picks up, particularly among those working with vulnerable Australians, continued lockdowns and border closures may be unavoidable.
As Sydney's latest lockdown rolls into it 12th day, the city's growing Covid exposure list grew yet again to include multiple busy supermarkets and restaurants.
'I'm aware of many of my colleagues who are now fearful of getting the vaccine and feel coerced and pressured that if they don't, they will be unemployed,' the anonymous aged care worker told A Current Affair on Monday night.
'There are many, many people like that'.
Drew has worked in the aged care industry for more than 30 years and is now worried he might lose his job, claiming he's 'not an anti-vaxxer' and has received the flu vaccine before.
'I'm certainly hesitant in relation to the Covid vaccine. The flu vaccine has been well-tested, well-researched,' he explained.
'I find it scary that we can develop a vaccine and say that it's going to be effective in such a short period of time without having a good study trial and reviewing the side effects people have had,
