Retiring Chief Health Officer and COVID hero Andy Robertson urges parents to vaccinate children as WA falters

Western Australia’s top doctor says children and adults could die unless vaccination rates improve, warning about misinformation from the anti-vaccination lobby. Chief Health Officer Andy Robertson, the unassuming architect of WA’s successful COVID-19 strategy, issued the chilling warning ahead of his retirement from the position at the end of this month. In an interview with The West Australian, Dr Robertson said he was “proud” of West Australians who had adhered to tough pandemic restrictions in 2020-22 — which included hard border controls, quarantining and continual insistence that people get vaccinated against the disease. “I am very happy where we landed with COVID,” Dr Robertson said. “I am proud of the people of the WA people, because they did the right thing.” But he said “hesitancy” to get immunised since the pandemic was resulting in children and adults not being protected against potentially fatal diseases. “We have seen increased hesitancy,” Dr Robertson said. “What we have also seen is the rise — or more prominence — of a very vocal anti-vaccination lobby. “They are certainly against COVID vaccines, but increasingly against other vaccines. “I think some of the messaging, particularly through social media and other channels is unfortunately making a number of people hesitant about it (getting vaccinated).” Dr Robertson said anyone over the age of 65 was still advised to have a yearly COVID vaccine. But he said immunity against other diseases such as measles, whooping cough and tetanus was also vitally important, mainly for children. Nationally, vaccination coverage continues to fall among children, adolescents and priority populations. Australian Government Department of Health statistics show that WA childhood vaccination rates have fallen below the 95 per cent target required for herd immunity. One-year-olds in WA had a 90.33 per cent fully immunised rate, with two-year-olds at 88 per cent and five-year-olds nearly 92 per cent. “These are safe and effective vaccines that ultimately can prevent serious disease, and even death, in your children,” Dr Robertson said. “All vaccines can have, in very small (cases) some serious consequences, as can have any medication. COVID (vaccine) was the same. “But when you consider how many billion doses have been given in COVID vaccines, in a very tiny amount (of people) they had some rare consequences.” Dr Robertson said he was “worried” about the rise of diseases like measles in WA communities. “I am worried that we are starting to see measles outbreaks,” he said. “People are coming back from overseas (infected with measles) and we are starting to see the spread (of the disease) to other people. “If our population is properly vaccinated, we should not see (any spread). “If we start seeing whopping cough again, diphtheria — even see tetanus again, they are all diseases that have very nasty outcomes and deaths. “That’s the real danger. If people stop taking it (vaccines), then we will (have cases).” Dr Robertson, 66, arrived at WA Health in 2003, recruited to set up the disaster management unit after an already distinguished career which included nearly 20 years in the Navy. At one stage, he led United Nations biological inspections in Iraq after the first Gulf War. But never in his wildest dreams did he expect that one day he would be leading the charge on a one-in-a-hundred year pandemic. “It (dealing with a pandemic) was an experience that I hadn’t expected,” he said, when remembering his arrival in Perth 23 years ago. And never did he believe the pandemic would continue to grip the world for three years. “I suppose historically, you could look back and say ‘yes, it (pandemic) is going to be over a number of years’,” he said. “But you never expected it to be that period.” Early cases of the coronavirus were first reported in China late in 2019. “I still think from the readings that it (coronavirus) most likely came from the (Wuhan) markets,” Dr Robertson said. The death of Perth man James Kwan on March 1, 2020, signalled the arrival of COVID-19 in WA and Australia. Up until then Dr Robertson and his health team had monitored what was occurring elsewhere in the world with the coronavirus hitting countries like Italy. “It (WA death) probably brought it home to everybody that this was no longer a hypothetical,” Dr Robertson. “(We realised) this wasn’t flu, it was a very different disease and had a significant fatality rate and obviously made a number of people very sick.” For the next two years, WA would isolate itself from the rest of Australia and the world — WA’s hard border controls not dropped until March 2022. “We (the WA Health team) were often working seven days a week, “Dr Robertson said. “I think in two years I went away for a week (for a break) and then I got called back in the middle of it. “My family was very supportive. My wife saw a bit of me, but it was usually late at night and first thing in the morning.” WA’s COVID-19 strategy was coined the “island within an island” plan by then WA premier Mark McGowan, shutting off WA from everyone else. People were allowed into WA if they met the exemptions criteria, but even then they had to isolate in hotels and houses. Dr Robertson said he has no regrets about the strategy. A review of Western Australia’s COVID-19 Management Response in 2023 found that WA had a lower COVID-19 fatality rate of 0.074 per cent compared with the Australian total of 0.174 per cent and lower than any other Australian State or Territory. “I don’t actually have any regrets on those (restrictions),” Dr Robertson said. “I think they were proportionate at the time. “I don’t think there was anything majorly that we could have done differently.” He points to COVID-19 success stories as evidence the strategy worked. “Our education system was only closed less than a week, five days, in three years,” he said. But not everyone saw it that way – Queensland billionaire Clive Palmer unsuccessfully fought WA’s border restrictions in the Federal Court. Dr Robertson had to front court to fight for WA’s border controls to remain. “I ended up in the Federal Court as a result (of Mr Palmer’s border fight),” Dr Robertson said. “I think he (Clive Palmer) didn’t understand what we were trying to achieve. “He felt he could continue to operate as he always operated. Restrictions have to apply to everybody. Unfortunately, the disease doesn’t seem to exempt anybody.” Would West Australians accept tough restrictions should the world ever be gripped by another pandemic? “I think they are perhaps fatigued at the moment, but if we had something with a (high) fatality rate — say one in three people were dying of the disease — then I think people would be co-operative,” he said. “People were highly co-operative during COVID. “That was one of the strengths of WA, that people understood and did the right thing.” Dr Robertson says retirement will allow more time with his family, and perhaps more time to play tennis. He still intends to be involved in helping the community in some shape or form. As he prepares to leave WA Health after 23 years, WA’s COVID hero refuses to accept personal accolades for his leading role in guiding WA through a pandemic, saying it was a team effort involving personnel from health, the State Government and the WA public. But sometimes, accolades can come when you least expect them and in the most unexpected places. “I was in Bunnings and this lady just walked up and said ‘hello, you were the chief health officer (during COVID), thank you for what you did’,” Dr Robertson smiled.