More than 65 per cent of people aged over 16 on the North Coast have now had their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine, and 36 per cent have had their second dose as of 6 September.
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The Mid North Coast area is five per cent higher than the national average, with 69 per cent of people having had their first dose.
The number of first dose recipients is highest in the Port Macquarie-Hastings local government area, falling into a 70-80 per cent band, followed by Tweed, Bellingen, Ballina, Nambucca, Kempsey, Coffs Harbour, Clarence Valley and Kyogle LGAs in the 60-70 per cent band.
In the LGAs of Byron, Lismore and Richmond Valley, 50-60 per cent of residents have received their first vaccine dose. We expect this to rise with the increased supply of the Pfizer vaccine starting from this week.
Overall rates in our region have been increasing about 4-5 per cent a week, which is on par with national vaccination trends.
Pfizer vaccine supplies are set to significantly increase from mid-September onwards, with an initial doubling of general practice doses from 10,000 to more than 20,000 a week expected.
An additional 70 general practices across the North Coast will offer the Pfizer vaccine from mid-September. This will take the total number of participating practices offering Pfizer to more than 110, as well as the region's 6 Commonwealth Vaccination Clinics.
Local Pfizer vaccine supplies will be tripled by October to more than 30,000 doses per week. AstraZeneca vaccines, recommended for those aged 60-plus, are still readily available.
Many more North Coast sites will become visible on the Vaccine Eligibility Checker over the coming two weeks as general practices receive their Pfizer deliveries and offer more vaccination timeslots.
Healthy North Coast continues to encourage anyone seeking a COVID-19 vaccination to use the eligibility checker to make an appointment, even it that appointment is still several weeks away.
Chief executive officer Julie Sturgess said demand for the Pfizer vaccine would remain high, as from Monday, 13 September, children aged 12-15 join those eligible to receive the Pfizer jab.
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