The ACT's Health Minister has encouraged Canberra's disability care residents and workers to "take the matter into their own hands" and get a Covid vaccine at a territory-run clinic.
Disability care residents were meant to be among the first in the country to get a Covid vaccine, as part of the Commonwealth government's in-reach program.
Many facilities were asked to "urgently" provide their residents' details for the rollout as early as January 25, but only 10 homes had received Covid vaccinations by April 23.
The same day, the federal government issued an alert to providers informing them it had deployed Canberra-based Aspen Medical to "ramp up" vaccinations in disability care homes from early May.
But a week on from that announcement, providers were still yet to hear concrete plans.
A source close to the ACT disability care rollout said they expected residents and staff who wanted vaccines to have received them within the next five or six weeks.
ACT Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith on Thursday said it was "really disappointing" that Canberrans in disability care had been left waiting to get Covid vaccines, and without sufficient information.
"Really, there's been a bit of an information vacuum," she said.
"I've raised that matter with [federal Health] Minister [Greg] Hunt a number of times, I know that our officials have raised it on a number of occasions, and will continue to."
Ms Stephen-Smith said the ACT had repeatedly offered to help the Commonwealth government with the rollout of Covid vaccines into the disability sector, and it would continue to make those offers.
She said officials would meet again on Thursday and she hoped to get more information about the federal government's plans for the vaccine rollout into disability care.
But, she urged disability workers and residents in disability care to get a Covid vaccine at a territory-run clinic if they were in a position to leave their homes.
"If people are keen to get their vaccination, and they haven't heard anything from the Commonwealth and are able to get to one of our vaccination hubs, please get online or call the number and make a booking," Ms Stephen-Smith said.
"Just take the matter into your own hands and get your vaccination because you're absolutely eligible."
The AstraZeneca Covid vaccine was available to people over 50 at the new Calvary Public Hospital Bruce vaccination clinic, while disability workers and residents under 50 could get a Pfizer vaccine at the Garran Surge Centre.
Eligible people could book a Covid vaccine appointment online using the ACT's new My Digital Health Record portal if they had visited an ACT public health facility using their current Medicare card details.
If they hadn't, they could call a vaccination phone line to book.
