MP says Pfizer reallocation ‘never should have happened’ as outback town records first Covid case

A remote outback town has recorded its first case of Covid-19, after its vaccine allocation was sent to Sydney instead.

A frustrated rural MP has criticised the state government’s decision to take Pfizer vaccines from the bush, after a Covid-19 case was detected in his remote outback electorate.

Bourke recorded its very first case of the virus on Monday, the same day Year 12 students were originally supposed to return to school after receiving Covid-19 jabs reallocated from regional areas.

The NSW government reallocated up to 40,000 shots in an attempt to get students from high risk local government areas back into classrooms – a plan that was scrapped amid Sydney’s worsening outbreak.

Barwon MP Roy Butler said the vaccine redistribution should never should have happened.

His office has received dozens of complaints from locals who had their vaccine appointments cancelled at 15 state-run clinics.

“It threw people into a bit of chaos really … it’s fair to say there’s some anger and frustration out there,” he said.

“Given the lack of medical services out here, you’d think you’d want to have something in place to get people vaccinated as a priority.”

Barwon MP Roy Butler, pictured here in 2019, wants the state-run vaccination clinics to open in his electorate. Picture: Gavin Schmidt

The outbreak in western NSW has ballooned to more than 100 cases, including 35 recorded in Dubbo on Monday.

Western NSW Local Health District chief executive Scott McLachlan said the vast majority of new cases were Indigenous, nearly 40 per cent of whom were children between the ages of 10 and 19.

Jason Agostino, a medical director at NACCHO – Australia’s peak Aboriginal medical body – said as of last week just eight per cent of Indigenous people in the area were fully vaccinated against Covid-19.

“It’s always concerning when there’s cases anywhere but particularly in rural and remote Australia because we know those hospitals aren’t as well equipped,” he said.

Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt last week announced an additional 7,680 Pfizer doses for remote areas in northern NSW, including Bourke, which will be allocated to GPs, Commonwealth vaccination clinics and Aboriginal community controlled health ervices.

Mr Butler welcomed the extra Pfizer, but called on NSW Health to open the state-run clinics it promised.

NSW Health has been contacted for comment.