COVID NSW vaccines: MPs Greg Piper and Kate Washington share thoughts on Pfizer doses being sent regions to Sydney

Gladys Berejiklian said there were more than 100 points of access for vaccines in regional and rural NSW, with more on the way once more pharmacies begin offering the AstraZeneca vaccine.

But while pharmacies in local government areas of concern in Sydney can now offer AstraZeneca - with hundreds more to come on board next month, only 22 pharmacies in rural and regional NSW - including sites at Dungog and Merriwa - are able to offer the vaccine to date.

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NSW Health would not specifically confirm whether doses allocated to Belmont's mass vaccination hub would be affected, saying Pfizer doses would be sourced from supplies "across rural and regional NSW" to ensure no one area was impacted.

Given Newcastle and the Hunter's proximity to Sydney and the constant threat of the virus leaking into the community, there has been concerns that the region will lose what little supply of the Pfizer vaccine it has to the city.

But Greg Piper, state member for Lake Macquarie, urged people to "show a little compassion".

"Either we're all in it together or we're not," he said.

"If the advice from our expert health agencies is to reprioritise the delivery of some Pfizer vaccines for a few weeks and put them into Sydney, then I'm inclined to accept that. I wouldn't accept a move like that if it was politically motivated, though.

"If Sydney was on fire we'd be sending our firefighters.

"If the west was in drought we'd be sending our water, and I've got no doubt they'd be doing the same for us if the situation was reversed.

"I think we need to show a little bit of compassion and a bit of common sense."

He said the real failure had been the federal government's inability to secure enough Pfizer vaccines in the first place.

"We only have this problem now because the vaccine rollout has been so poorly managed," he said.

COVID vaccination NSW

Port Stephens MP Kate Washington agreed that it should never have come to the point where the government was having to choose who got access to Pfizer vaccines and we started squabbling over inadequate supplies.

"Port Stephens sits on the edge of the lockdown area and we have a very vulnerable population," she said.

"And people are rightfully feeling fearful of the virus returning."

She said generally, people supported the notion of ensuring Year 12s in locked down areas could get back to school safely.

"But we shouldn't be in a situation where the government is having to choose who can have access to Pfizer vaccines," she said.

"One thing is clear - it is the fundamental failure of the Morrison government in its vaccine rollout that has led to this diabolical situation.

"It is sickening to think that locally, we will miss out for longer on getting the protection we need, but will we do it? Yes we will."

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