Hawkesbury surpasses 70 per cent vaccination milestone

Three levels of government have welcomed the Hawkesbury’s vaccination progress, as new data reveals the community has reached a significant vaccination milestone. 

Data from the Australian Government shows that, as of 6 September 2021, 74.7% of people in the Hawkesbury Local Government Area have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. 

Under the Morrison Government’s National Plan, which all states and territories have agreed to, once 70 and 80 per cent vaccination thresholds are reached at a state-wide level, lockdowns and restrictions can be minimised and the country safely reopened for travel domestically and internationally. 

Liberal Senator for Western Sydney, Senator the Hon Marise Payne, said getting vaccinated is the pathway out of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“The best thing we can all do is make sure we keep positive, encourage one another to get vaccinated, and stick to the National Plan,” Senator Payne said.

“While the vaccination rate is very promising, I urge our community to keep going because every vaccine administered gets us closer to unlocking Australia.” 

Member for the Hawkesbury, Robyn Preston MP, thanked the Hawkesbury community for rolling up their sleeves and getting vaccinated.

“Hawkesbury is one of the leading areas in NSW when it comes to getting vaccinated and I am very proud of how we have responded to the call,” Ms Preston said. 

“We want to get back to sharing a meal with relatives and mates, supporting small businesses at cafés, gyms, hotels or clubs, enjoying live bands, getting back to sporting venues and being able to attend church.

“We are on the home stretch now and the sweet rewards are within our reach. Let’s do this Hawkesbury!”

The Mayor of Hawkesbury, Councillor Patrick Conolly knows that the Hawkesbury is doing well on the vaccination rates, and with GPs and pharmacies now also offering vaccinations, more people are getting vaccinated every day.

“The Hawkesbury is doing a great job with our vaccination progress,” Mayor Conolly said.

“Our State and Federal leaders have been very clear that the way out of this lockdown is through vaccinations, and the people of Hawkesbury have responded to that call in a big way already."

Wentworth Healthcare, the provider of the Nepean Blue Mountains Primary Health Network, has been working closely with the Department of Health to support the local vaccination roll-out into general practices. 

Lizz Reay, CEO of Wentworth Healthcare, said general practices have been working hard to vaccinate the community against COVID-19 on top of their normal everyday patient care.

“We estimate that over 173,000 vaccine doses in our region have been administered through primary care which includes general practices, Aboriginal Medical Services and GP-led Respiratory Clinics. Nationally, we know that over half of all vaccinations have been administered through primary care, which is a huge effort,” Ms Reay said.

“We have seen the community demand for COVID-19 vaccination increase since the June outbreak and it is fantastic to see that so many people in the Hawkesbury have rolled up their sleeve to receive their jab.

“Across our region we now have 92 general practices delivering COVID-19 vaccinations, with 21 of these located in the Hawkesbury. In addition, we have three GP-led Respiratory Clinics delivering vaccinations, one of which is located in the Hawkesbury.

“As more Pfizer vaccine starts to come on board from next week, we will see capacity and access to Pfizer appointments increase across our region, so I encourage those who have not yet booked an appointment to get onto the Eligibility Checker and to book their vaccination as soon as possible.” 

On 3 September, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced a new vaccine deal with the United Kingdom, which will see an additional 4 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine arrive in Australia. This comes on top of the 500,000 doses secured in agreement with Singapore. The two agreements take Australia’s supply of Pfizer for the month of September to over 9 million doses, more than the months of June, July and August combined. 

To date, according to the Australian Immunisation Register, the majority of doses administered across the nation have been through Commonwealth channels, such as at GPs or community pharmacies. 

As of 7 September 2021, the first dose vaccination rate for New South Wales is 75.6%. The second dose vaccination rate is 42.7%.