The Western Australia (WA) government has elected its police commissioner as its new “vaccine commander” in a bid to bolster the state’s vaccine rollout.
WA Police Commissioner Chris Dawson, who is also currently serving as the state’s emergency coordinator, will oversee the rollout and is tasked with maximising the number of West Australians willing to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
In particular, the vaccine commander’s role will involve communicating with non-government sectors to “ensure specific hesitant groups are supported to take up the vaccine.”
Currently, 28.5 percent of over 16’s in WA have been fully vaccinated—the lowest out of any state, closely followed by Queensland at 28.9 percent.
WA Premier Mark McGowan and Police Minister Paul Papalia extolled Dawson as the ideal candidate for the role.
“As WA’s top cop, Commissioner Dawson has shone through this pandemic, and it’s fitting he will lead WA’s COVID-19 Vaccine Program,” Papalia added.
Last year, the WA Police Force launched a COVID-19 enforcement squad of more than 200 officers tasked with conducting spot checks on gatherings and people required to self-quarantine.
“During the pandemic, our police officers have played a significant role in keeping the State safe, be it through day-to-day policing, effectively bolstering our borders or targeted special operations to catch criminals and syndicates bucking the law,” Papalia said.
Dawson’s placement mirrors that of Lieutenant General John James Frewen, a senior officer in the Australian Army who was elected as Coordinator of the National COVID Vaccine Taskforce in June.
It also comes as Australia has upped its street presence of police and military forces in an attempt to restrict anti-lockdown protests that have broken out across the nation.
This includes thousands of Australians in Sydney and Melbourne who came out to protest last month as part of the “World Wide Rally for Freedom.”
WA Police had also previously drawn ire after it was uncovered that it had used “SafeWA”—the state’s COVID-19 tracing app—on two separate investigations for non-contact tracing purposes.