Southwest Sydney and far west NSW have lowest vaccine rates in the state

New data shows which areas of Sydney and NSW are lagging behind on Covid-19 vaccination rates. See the full list of immunisations by region.

Sydney’s southwest has one of the lowest overall vaccination rates in the state despite being hit hardest by the latest Covid-19 wave, with the remote west and northern parts of NSW also behind.

About 14.6 per cent of people aged 15 and over are fully vaccinated in Sydney’s south west, while the North Sydney and Hornsby area had the highest rate of double vaccination with 26.9 per cent.

Data released by the federal government shows as of August 1, the North Sydney and Hornsby area, as well as the Southern Highlands and Shoalhaven are the most protected regions in NSW, as more than half the population has had at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine.

The Far West and Orana region had the worst vaccination rate in the state with 13.4 per cent fully vaccinated and 34.1 per cent with at least one dose.

New vaccination figures reveal southwest Sydney and western NSW have the lowest rates. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gaye Gerard

The Hunter Valley excluding Newcastle were second lowest with 14.1 per cent fully vaccinated and Coffs Harbour next on 14.6 per cent.

Nationally 19.23 per cent of Australians are fully vaccinated, meaning many parts of NSW are ahead of the rest of the country.

This includes Sydney’s inner west with a fully vaccinated rate of 22.8 per cent, Ryde with 23.3 per cent, Baulkham Hills and Hawkesbury on 25.5 per cent and Blacktown is also doing well with 19.8 per cent.

The collection of vaccine rollout data has recently been overhauled after it was revealed some doctors were recording each jab based on the postcode of the clinic where it was delivered, rather than where the patient lived.

Members of the Australian Defence Force and NSW Police gather at Prairiewood Leisure Centre for a briefing before hitting the streets of south west Sydney. Picture: Toby Zerna

This had skewed the Australian Immunisation Register data, particularly in areas like the NSW and Queensland border towns where people regularly cross between states.

During the early stages of Sydney’s Covid-19 outbreak, Prime Minister Scott Morrison indicated he had seen the vaccination rates of then hardest-hit local government areas Fairfield, Liverpool and Canterbury-Bankstown, but the information was never made public.

One source familiar with the vaccine rollout data said they believed there was some reluctance to publish the data if it showed stronger multicultural areas had a lower vaccination rate.

In February the government provided $1.3 million to multicultural organisations to help reach culturally and linguistically diverse communities, but advertising experts have repeatedly warned more was needed.

Vaccine transparency is expected to get a major boost on Tuesday when the federal government plans to release the full report by the Doherty Institute modelling different Covid-19 scenarios for Australia depending on uptake of the jab.

The report commissioned by the government found Australia would need to reach at least 70 per cent of the eligible population vaccinated for a significant easing of domestic restrictions.

But South Australian independent senator Rex Patrick warned this figure could be too low.

“When you translate those numbers back into the entirety of the population, including children, you get to numbers like 56 per cent, which is way too low compared to other jurisdictions,” he said.

“We’ve got a lack of transparency here and that needs to be fixed.”

Originally published as Southwest Sydney and far west NSW have lowest vaccine rates in the state