NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian says the state will begin vaccinating 35,000 frontline workers against COVID-19 from Monday – with aged care facilities next in line.
The Premier said the process of vaccinating quarantine staff, using the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, would take three months.
“This is a very important development in our fight against COVID-19,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“While the scale is not large to begin with … we anticipate the scale of the receipt of the vaccine will increase over the next few weeks.”
Border and hotel quarantine workers will be first to receive the jab followed by a frontline health workers.
Chief health officer Kerry Chant said the priority was to protect those who were at most risk of exposure to COVID-19.
“We can’t vaccinate all the quarantine workers on one day because if everyone get a sore arm and feels unwell the next day that can have operational impacts,” she said.
The Premier said if an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 hotel quarantine workers were vaccinated over the next three weeks, the effort would see the majority of the scheme’s staff protected.
Ms Berejiklian also said she would be receiving the COVID-19 vaccine as soon as possible.
“I’d love to get mine early but I don’t think it’s fair to jump the queue.”
Dr Chant said that after frontline workers were vaccinated, aged care facilities would be next on the waiting list.
“For the rest of us, in the weeks and months to come the federal government will release more information about the AstraZeneca vaccine which most of us will have access to through a variety of sources, probably our GPs,” said NSW Health Minister, Brad Hazzard.
“Don’t be fearful that you wont get your turn.”
