Angela Rowe is looking forward to visiting her elderly parents, watching her kids play at the beach and getting rid of some unwanted grey hair.
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The 40-year-old from Merewether had her second Pfizer dose at the Belmont vaccination hub on Friday and is now waiting for the state to start opening up in late October.
"Mum has dementia and is in a high-care facility out at Warabrook. That means Dad's on his own at the moment," she said.
"I haven't been able to see him. I have a two-and-a-half-year-old, so I'm looking forward to Dad being able to see him as well.
"Then just seeing all my nieces and nephews and all my friends on something other than Zoom.
"Just getting out and about and socialising like we used to. All the normal things as well.
"I've got greys that are diabolical at the moment, so I need to sort myself out a bit."
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Ms Rowe, who works for a defence contractor at Williamtown, is from one of the most vaccinated suburbs in the Hunter.
More than 70 per cent of Merewether adults have received their first vaccine dose and more than half have received both.
Only Warners Bay, Salamander Bay and tiny Newcastle West have first-dose rates above 80 per cent.
A strict demarcation between the rights of the vaccinated and the unvaccinated will come into force when the state hits 70 per cent double-dose coverage, leaving the community to navigate a new set of rules and potential social tensions.
The vaccinated will be able to attend family gatherings, go to cafes and pubs, travel around the state, have their hair done and shop in-store for clothes.
The rest, including those who object to vaccines and people not yet double-dosed, will be stuck in lockdown, some indefinitely.
Business Hunter chief executive officer Bob Hawes said on Friday that "there will be a period where awkward conversations take place for some businesses, just like they did with restricted numbers, QR codes and mask wearing".
"Unfortunately for businesses and people who are choosing not to be vaccinated, this difficulty is going to be a fact of life for a little while.
"That's one of the distressing impacts of a global pandemic and why we need to get in front of it."
Ms Rowe said most of her friends and acquaintances were pro-vaccination.
"I know of people, friends of friends, before the pandemic hadn't vaccinated their children," she said.
"That's been a source of contention in their friendship groups because they're all at an age where they're having babies and they've got kids that are not vaccinated around newborns."
She was unsure how she felt about "mandatory vaccination by governments".
"Everyone should have the freedom of choice and autonomy over their own bodies, and things you put into your body should be done in consultation with your health professionals and not mandated by anyone else.
"This virus is new and we're still working through how to manage it."
Our coverage of the health and safety aspects of this outbreak of COVID-19 in Newcastle and the Hunter, and lockdown rules and changes, is free for anyone to access. However, we depend on subscription revenue to support our journalism. If you are able, please subscribe here. If you are already a subscriber, thank you for your support. You can also sign up for our newsletters for regular updates.
Michael Parris
Michael Parris reports on politics for the Newcastle Herald. He started at the Herald in 1994 after working in the ABC Newcastle newsroom. Michael spent much of his career as a sub-editor before moving into political reporting in 2017. He was a finalist in the Sports Australia national media awards for his stories about a male-only tennis club in Newcastle. He has covered NSW and federal elections, state and federal budgets and local politics. He has also written extensively about the COVID-19 pandemic with a special focus on data analysis and the effects of lockdowns on the Hunter community.
Michael Parris reports on politics for the Newcastle Herald. He started at the Herald in 1994 after working in the ABC Newcastle newsroom. Michael spent much of his career as a sub-editor before moving into political reporting in 2017. He was a finalist in the Sports Australia national media awards for his stories about a male-only tennis club in Newcastle. He has covered NSW and federal elections, state and federal budgets and local politics. He has also written extensively about the COVID-19 pandemic with a special focus on data analysis and the effects of lockdowns on the Hunter community.
