Almost half of eligible people across the state have now received a booster shot,with 47 per cent of those who had their second dose fourth months ago having had the jab.
“Hospital staff are run off their feet and lower vaccination rates in northern parts of NSW are leaving many people vulnerable and people are ending up in hospital unnecessarily,” Mr Hazzard told theHerald.
NSW has recorded 34,660 new COVID-19 cases and 20 more deaths.Edwina Pickles
“It doesn’t matter who you are,you must go and get a booster. The booster is showing itself to be one of the vital tools in pushing back against the evil of this virus. It is clear that Omicron is very transmissible,it’s also quite capable of doing damage to various groups of people and the booster dose does make a huge difference.”
There are 2650 people in hospital,up from 2576 on Saturday,of whom 191 are in intensive care units. Almost 200 COVID-19 deaths have been reported in the past two weeks.
Mr Hazzard said Lismore Medical Council’s Dr Chris Ingle confirmed there were major concerns in northern NSW due to “relatively low vaccination rates”. Byron local government area has the lowest vaccination rate in the state,with 85.9 per cent having received two doses. In the 12 to 15 age group 49 per cent have been double-dosed.
“This week in Lismore we had six people in the intensive care unit and all six were unvaccinated. You can’t get a clearer message than that,” Mr Hazzard said.
More than 5700 infections have been reported in Northern NSW in the past week. About 86 per cent of people in Byron local government area are fully vaccinated and about 90 per cent of people in Tweed local government area are vaccinated.
Another 20 deaths were reported on Sunday,including 11 men and nine women. Sixteen people who died had been vaccinated against the virus and four had not received a vaccine.
One person was aged in their 20s,three people were aged in their 50s,one person was aged in their 60s,four people were in their 70s,nine people were in their 80s and two people were in their 90s.
Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said that about 82 per cent of 12 to 15-year-olds have received a first dose.
“We are seeing that go up,but it was stubbornly stuck around 81.5 per cent,and it’s now 82.1 per cent that have received their first dose and 78.4 have received the two doses,” Dr Chant said.
“COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective against hospitalisations and death,” Dr Chant said.
“If you are over 65 years,if you’re immunocompromised,if you’ve got chronic liver and heart conditions,you are at increased risk of disease. It’s critical for that age group that you get your booster. It is critical we get those boosters into the most at risk in our community.”
Of the new cases,20,978 were from positive PCR test results,while 13,682 were from rapid antigen testing.
More than 11 per cent of children aged between five and 11 have received their first dose.
Concerns are mounting for the nation's elderly population,with thousands of aged care staff forced into isolation.
Aged care facilities have been hit hard in the latest outbreak,with more than around Australia.
In NSW,1530 aged care residents and 1580 staff have tested positive across 425 facilities,prompting calls for visitor policies to be put in place.
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