State member for Barwon Roy Butler is encouraging local residents who are concerned about the redistribution of COVID vaccines to Sydney to have their say through an online petition.

The ePetition was launched after the NSW government announced it would redistribute Pfizer doses from regional NSW to Sydney in an effort to control the worsening COVID pandemic.

The petition calls on the NSW government to treat all areas equitably.

Mr Butler said the rollout of the COVID vaccination program in rural areas across NSW for essential workers and their contacts has been slow in the first place, and these areas are still trying to catch up.

“This has now been pushed back further due to the removal of Pfizer vaccines for Sydney,” he said.

“I’m being contacted by doctors and nurses who’ve expressed their concern over the Premier’s decision to take our limited Pfizer supplies.

“The removal of local access to Pfizer has the potential for major problems for hospital and nursing home safety in regional NSW if COVID comes out west, which is always possible.

“We simply do not have the health care facilities to look after COVID cases in the Barwon electorate, we don’t have comprehensive health services like major regional centres and the east coast.

That to me makes it vitally important that we have access to vaccinations.

“First priority populations for vaccination (Phase 1a) including frontline health care workers, aged care and disability care staff, aged care and disability care residents – many of these people in regional NSW are still waiting to receive their first vaccination. Who will care for patients if our doctors and nurses fall ill themselves?

“The federal government also must take responsibility as the root cause of the problem. Australia has the lowest rates in the OECD – 38th out of 38 countries.”

Mr Butler’s condemnation of the vaccine redistribution was similarly echoed by the Rural Doctors Association of Australia which has labelled the move “rural roulette”.

The association’s president, Dr John Hall, said diverting vaccines from the bush to metropolitan areas would leave rural communities to play catch up in case of a local outbreak.

“Most rural communities have already been waiting months for access to the Pfizer vaccine, with many vulnerable patients, health workers and other Priority 1A people still waiting for their first dose,” Dr Hall said.

“These are the very same people who will be at risk or called upon to provide care if there is an outbreak in a rural community.

“To have their supply of Pfizer vaccines snatched from them so it can be made available to school students in Sydney is simply unacceptable.

“It only takes one drive into the country to take Sydney out into the bush and we have already seen how the movement of essential workers has put rural people at risk.”

“We need to be proactive and preventative when planning the distribution of vaccines.

“Every time it is removed from a rural area, another community is left vulnerable.”

A spokesperson for NSW Health said the vaccines were being redirected to support Year 12 students returning to face-to-face learning for their HSC.

“As part of its pandemic response, NSW Health is taking this important temporary measure to also give us the best chance of containing the current outbreak in Greater Sydney as quickly as possible,” the spokesperson said.

“As a result, people in other regions could receive a notice advising their first dose of Pfizer will be rescheduled.

“Anyone who has had their first dose already or those in priority groups 1a or 1b will not have their bookings rescheduled.

“GPs continue to supply Pfizer vaccinations in regional NSW, and their supplies from the federal government are unaffected by this reallocation.”

“AstraZeneca also remains available from GPs, NSW Health clinics and a growing number of pharmacies.

The NSW government has asked the federal government to facilitate more pharmacies in regional and rural areas delivering the COVID-19 vaccines.

See more like this:

To order photos from this page click here