Covid-19: Young people heed call to arms in Sydney outbreak’s epicentre

Young people are coming forward in droves to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine at community pharmacies across southwest and western Sydney where case numbers have surged.

Gregory Lambrousis, 29, receives the AstraZeneca vaccine from chief pharmacist Nadeem Ahmad at Priceline pharmacy in Liverpool in southwest Sydney. Picture: John Feder

At community pharmacies across southwest and western Sydney where case numbers have surged in recent days, young people are coming forward in droves to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine.

The move comes as the Berejiklian government pushes for a higher takeup of vaccines to stem the tide of the Delta outbreak.

Phones have been ringing off the hook in parts of Sydney, with people scrambling to protect themselves as the threat of contracting Covid-19 grows increasingly severe.

Chemists in Fairfield, Liverpool and Canterbury-Bankstown have reported up to 60 phone calls a day in their first three days of operation as vaccination hubs.

Up to 90 pharmacies in southwest and western Sydney are now administering vaccines and join a total of 450 across the state from next week, after the national vaccine advisory group changed its advice to recommend all adults in Greater Sydney to “strongly consider” getting the AZ vaccine.

Prior to the change, adults under the age of 40 were required to contact their GP before being able to have the vaccine.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian on Wednesday said AZ vaccination had gone “through the roof” but called for more people to get vaccinated in order for Sydney to end its long lockdown.

“The NSW government has pivoted on a strategy based on what we know about the vaccine and changed health advice about AstraZeneca,” Ms Berejiklian said.

“We have upped the ante and I want to say thank you, we have had tens of thousands of people get the AstraZeneca vaccine in the past few days.”

Just under 11 per cent of people aged 35-39 in NSW are fully vaccinated, but the figure falls to 9 per cent for under-30s, triggering a mass push by the government to ramp up rates in that cohort.

From Friday, all adults at any age will be able to book in to receive the AZ vaccine at NSW government vaccination centres and health clinics.

The government has also expanded priority access to the Pfizer vaccine for supermarket workers in Blacktown, Canterbury-Bankstown, Cumberland, Fairfield and Liverpool local government areas, has and opened walk-in AZ clinics in Cumberland.

Priceline Liverpool head pharmacist Nadeem Ahmad, 45, said he had been overwhelmed with the response since he opened for vaccinations on Monday, with the majority of his customers aged in their 20s and 30s.

He said customers were reporting that the worsening outbreak in their backyard had caused people to rush to get the jab. “People have said they have been watching the numbers every day and are scared, and they want to get themselves jabbed as soon as possible,” Mr Ahmad said, who chose to get the AZ jab himself to help assure his customers that it was safe.

While the dash for AZ shots has provided a glimmer of hope in containing the spread of the virus, pharmacists in southwest and western Sydney are concerned by the risk it poses to their staff.

As case numbers surge and GPs move to telehealth consultations, pharmacies have increasingly carried the burden of treating people as a front-facing medical service.

While most pharmacies have moved to dispensing medicines as takeaway only, dozens have been listed as exposure sites in the past two weeks, forcing all staff members into isolation.