Communities in the Western NSW Local Health District (WNSWLHD) are being congratulated for their efforts to come forward for vaccination, with the area now with some of the highest COVID-19 vaccination rates in NSW.

We are even leading the field in juvenile vaccinations, which were made available later than for adults.

According to the latest data from the Australian Immunisation Register, to 24 October, WNSWLHD’s second-dose vaccination rate for those aged 12-15 was the highest in the state at 68.1 per cent – well above the state-wide figure of 51.3 per cent.

Meanwhile, the second dose vaccination rate for those aged over 16 years in WNSWLHD was 87.2 per cent, among the highest of any LHD and also above the overall state figure of 84.1 per cent.

WNSWLHD Chief Executive Scott McLachlan said he was extremely proud of both the district’s vaccination team and communities for showing up in such high numbers to receive their COVID-19 vaccines.

“Our LHD has a strong history when it comes to vaccination, so I’m not overly surprised to see the communities stepping up again to protect themselves in this way, but to see it happen so quickly is still really pleasing,” Mr McLachlan said.

“In just the last few months our vaccination teams have visited more than 75 communities, across a geographical area approximately the size of the United Kingdom.

“The vaccination team has thrown everything at this effort, taking multiple approaches to meet the needs of different parts of our community.

"They’ve often led the way for NSW Health by delivering innovative ways to provide vaccination, including having the first drive-through vaccination clinic and mobile vax vans for the state."

Mr McLachlan also acknowledged the efforts of partners in delivering vaccine to Western NSW, particularly the Australian Defence Force (ADF).

“The support of the ADF over the last ten weeks has been phenomenal and we could not have achieved these vaccination rates so quickly without them,” he said.

“Our partnership with the ADF will officially come to an end this Friday and I know all our communities would join me in thanking them for working with us through this very difficult time.”

According to Mr McLachlan, since the first dose of vaccine was administered on 21 March 2021, WNSWLHD have so far given more than 115,000 doses across the district.

“As the state continues to open up and tourists return to regional NSW in the coming weeks and months, it’s never been more important to ensure we vaccinate as many people as possible across our region,” Mr McLachlan said.

“We know how effective vaccination is in reducing the risk of both contracting and transmitting COVID-19, along with stopping people getting very sick and needing hospital care.

"We’ve seen how this has been the case in our own backyard as we’ve fought the Delta outbreak in Western NSW."

Despite the region's success, Mr McLachlan continued to urge everyone in the community who still hadn't done so already to come forward for vaccination to achieve the next milestone.

"We want to see our district get over 90 per cent double vaccinated and we're on track to do that - we expect to see it happen over the next week," he said.

Mr McLachlan acknowledged there was also still work to do in the 12-15 age group, which he said was the perfect age to spread COVID around their school communities which have returned this week.