Premier’s bold plan to urgently vaccinate Sydney residents as Covid-19 outbreak is deemed a national emergency

As Covid-19 continues to spread like wildfire in NSW, health authorities have made an urgent plea for help.

The intensifying severity of the coronavirus outbreak in NSW has sparked a concerning plea from health authorities as the state continues to battle through what has now been regarded a national emergency.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced a further 136 cases on Friday, 53 of which were in the community while infectious – figures she said were far higher than what health authorities were expecting a month into lockdown.

With the chances of Greater Sydney being released from lockdown on July 31 growing more bleak each day, Ms Berejiklian stressed that vaccines were now considered NSW’s best chance at seeing the other side of the outbreak.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian earmarked an immediate change to the vaccine rollout. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Jeremy Piper

As such, she revealed that she had called on the federal government to refocus the national vaccination strategy.

“We need to have a discussion about refocusing the national vaccination strategy. What we have done as a government is refocus our efforts in distributing vaccines in southwest Sydney,” she told reporters.

Ms Berejiklian revealed that health advice had recommended an urgent acquisition of additional doses to vaccinated critical workers in the 20 to 40 age group.

“The vaccines are working, that is excellent news. We know the vaccines work on stopping high rates of transmission, which means that stopping people spreading it as much as they otherwise would, or stopping people from getting a very sick,” she said.

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“We need to get more of them into arms, even if it is a first jab, because we know that reduces transmission and protects someone up to 30 per cent, and that is very important.”

Ms Berejiklian said health authorities would be working on a “road map for the people of NSW” over the weekend and early next week.

Chief health officer Kerry Chant stressed that vaccines were needed on such an urgent basis that realistically, needing to begin being administered today.

Dr Chant called on a redirection of the both the AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccine rollout to focus on worst-affected LGAs in southwest and western Sydney.

“The individual benefits of vaccination are so clear, both vaccines are very effective at preventing against severe illness and hospitalisation. I cannot urge the community on a broader scale enough to take up any opportunity to get vaccinated,” she told reporters.

Workers in the hard-hit areas in the 20-49 age group should be a major priority, Dr Chant added, with her recommending an urgent “mass vaccination” of those workers.

“Under 40s would not have been routinely eligible for the vaccination in terms of Pfizer, I have recommended to government that we urgently do mass vaccination of those workers to stem the transmission risk,” she said.

The premier said health authorities were in talks with pharmacists about opening pharmacies to help administer AstraZeneca across southwest and Western Sydney areas.

Additionally, GPs were on call to provide extra doses through established vaccination hubs, while on-site vaccinations at businesses was also being considered.

“What we need is a refocus of extra doses and that’s why we will continue to have those conversations,” she said.

Dr Chant said more Pfizer vaccines were needed for younger people in southwest and western Sydney.

“We know that that will provide individual benefit to them and prevent them also from spreading it on,” she said.

“So my clear message (is), anyone over 40, go and get vaccinated. Anyone under 40, consider it. If I was living in some of those areas, I would certainly be having AstraZeneca. And I think we need to think about this very seriously.”

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