NSW Residents Aged 40-49 Able to Register for Pfizer Vaccine

People are seen queuing to enter a mass COVID-19 vaccination hub in Sydney, Australia, on May 10, 2021. (Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

New South Wales has opened a mass vaccination hub at Sydney Olympic Park after announcing that one million NSW residents aged 40 to 49 would now be eligible to receive the Pfizer vaccine from Monday.

The hub will be open six days per week from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and those aged between 40 to 49 who are interested can register for vaccination through NSW Health and be contacted when a booking is available. However, no specific date was given for when the rollout of vaccines for this age group will start.

“We can’t tell you exactly when you’ll be getting the jab, but we’ll be able to give you enough notice to get yourself here in the coming weeks,” NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said, noting that the vaccination needs to be given to emergency workers and aged care workers first.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian speaks to the media during a press conference at a mass COVID-19 vaccination hub on May 10, 2021, in Sydney, Australia. (Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

“The mass vaccination centre will be able to administer up to 30,000 vaccines per week once it is up and running, that means around 5000 vaccinations per day,” Berejiklian said.

The premier also noted that the centre and the 100 plus NSW Health clinics and hubs across the state now meant that NSW Health could administer up to 60,000 vaccines each week.

From Wednesday, May 12, people aged 50 and over will also be able to receive their AstraZeneca (AZ) jabs at the hub, if failing to obtain the vaccination from their GP.

People are seen queuing to enter a mass COVID-19 vaccination hub on May 10, 2021, in Sydney, Australia. (Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

“Opening a vaccination centre of this scale at Sydney Olympic Park is a massive and unprecedented undertaking, and one I’m very proud of as Health Minister,” Health Minister Brad Hazzard said.

Still No Confirmed Link in Sydney COVID-19 Case

Meanwhile, NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said health officials still have not identified how the initial case, which triggered the latest restrictions in the state, was exposed to COVID-19.

“What’s clear is that this gentleman, because we have tested everyone in close proximity to this gentleman in terms of our upstream testing, the contact with the infectious person must have been very fleeting,” he told The Sydney Morning Herald.

Chant urged all NSW residents who can be vaccinated to do so.

“Vaccination is very effective at reducing your risk of serious illness and death from COVID-19 and will also reduce the chance you will pass on the infection to your loved ones,” he said.