The Australian state of NSW says the rate of coronavirus vaccination is slowing

by

  • Some curbs make it easier for people to be completely vaccinated in Sydney
  • Victoria’s cases continue to rise
  • Vaccines were implemented for children aged 12 to 15 years

SYDNEY, Sept. 13 (Reuters) – The government of the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) said on Monday that the pace of COVID-19 vaccines had slowed as coverage of the first dose was approaching 80% and urged the unvaccinated to receive shots sooner or risk losing their liberties when the sidewalks relax.

Prime Minister Gladys Berejiklian has pledged to ease some restrictions for the state’s eight million residents when two-dose vaccination rates reach 70%, which is expected to be in the middle of next month. To date, about 46% of the state’s adult population has been completely vaccinated, above the national average of 42%.

“For those of you who choose not to get vaccinated, this is your choice, but don’t expect to do everything vaccinated people do when we reach 80%,” Berejiklian said at a briefing in Sydney, the capital of the state.

“Our vaccination rates continue to rise, but there has been a slight slowdown. So we encourage everyone to show up and get vaccinated.”

As of Monday, some limits were provided to fully vaccinated residents in Sydney. It will be allowed to gather five people outside while members of the same family from Sydney’s twelve most affected suburbs can gather for two hours outside.

A poster announces the availability of doses of COVID-19 vaccine at a downtown pharmacy during a closure to curb the spread of an outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Sydney, Australia, on September 9 2021. REUTERS / Loren Elliott / File Photo

Australia is struggling to control outbreaks of the highly infectious Delta variant of the coronavirus virus, which began in Sydney in June and spread to Melbourne and Canberra, submerging nearly half the population of 25 million people. However, other state capitals have few or zero cases.

The steady rise in infections has caused the federal government to heat up to get emergency vaccine supplies. On Sunday, 1 million additional doses of Moderna (MRNA.O) were purchased in the European Union, while vaccine exchange agreements with Britain and Singapore have been underway for the past two weeks. Read more

Lt. Gen. John Frewen, head of the federal government’s immunization task force, said there will be enough vaccines beginning in mid-October to completely inoculate all eligible people. The COVID-19 vaccination campaign was expanded Monday to include about one million children ages 12 to 15.

Australian biotechnology company CSL (CSL.AX), which produces locally the COVID-19 AstraZeneca (AZN.L) vaccine, said a positive case was detected at its Melbourne facility, but production has not stopped. interrupt.

The total number of cases in Australia is around 75,300, including 1,098 deaths, although the mortality rate from the last outbreak is lower than last year.

A total of 1,257 new cases were reported in New South Wales on Monday, while neighboring Victoria reported 473 new infections, its biggest one-day rise for 2021.

Reports of Renju Jose; Edited by Sam Holmes and Stephen Coates

Our standards: the principles of trust of Thomson Reuters.

.Source