An examination of publicly accessible data reveals new concerns about how COVID-19 vaccinations have been delivered in Australia since the deployment began in the middle of the year.
In 2021, NSW has been gripped by the nation's worst epidemic, and vaccinations have been "brought ahead" or "reallocated" to the problematic areas.
However, the degree to which vaccination deliveries have been focused on NSW – at the expense of other states — may surprise some.
Back in late June, when Sydney's current epidemic was only getting started, the state received 32% of the national Pfizer vaccine allotment via primary care - mostly GPs.
This approximately corresponds to NSW's share of the national population.
However, by last month, its allotment had risen to 45 percent.
Some of this was due to additional vaccinations, such as those in the supply from Poland, which mainly went to New South Wales.
But that isn't the entire picture, and these statistics show how the NSW dosages have come at the cost of other jurisdictions.
Consider Victoria, Queensland, and Western Australia, all of which have seen their allocation fall well short of their proportion of the national population.
The federal government-run distribution of Pfizer vaccines via the GP network — and increasingly other primary care providers like pharmacies — has seen significant supply changes in favour of NSW.
With the increased emphasis on vaccinating children, Pfizer supplies have become even more critical.
In only two weeks in August, NSW gave 904,184 vaccinations, more than double the amount given in Victoria, the next largest state.
The other states have consistently said that they are unable to get an adequate Pfizer vaccine supply.
The real-world effect of moving Pfizer vaccines to NSW is substantial, especially considering the considerably quicker rate at which individuals may be double-vaccinated.
According to these figures, Victoria may have lost out on up to 343,000 Pfizer vaccinations between June and September, Queensland 100,000 vaccinations, and Western Australia 114,000 vaccinations.
However, the apparently increased weighting of future Pfizer shot allocations to NSW for the rest of the year is worrisome.
The Federal Department of Health's "Horizon Allocation" document, which was revised in late July, anticipates vaccination delivery through the end of December.
It demonstrates that Victoria, Queensland, and Western Australia continue to get much fewer vaccinations than their population share.
For example, Victoria would typically get about 82% of NSW's allotment.
However, it is expected to get between 66% and 69%.
Victoria and Queensland are the two states most negatively impacted by the transfer of Pfizer shots to NSW.
Victorian Health Minister Martin Foley stated in a statement at 7.30 a.m. that it was "disappointing that the Commonwealth seems to be pursuing a national strategy to vaccinate NSW at the cost of all other Australians."
7.30 understands that in mid-August, Queensland Health expressed its concerns about the allocations with the federal government.
A spokesman for Operation COVID Shield, the national organisation in charge of the rollout, led by Lieutenant General John Frewen, stated in a statement to 7.30 that part of the reaction to the NSW outbreak in July and August included quickly putting 260 GP offices in NSW online.
To compensate, the spokesman said that additional dosages will be distributed to other states, beginning with Victoria on September 13.
A fresh prediction of how vaccinations will be distributed will be published soon.
Whilst Lieutenant General Frewen has taken steps to improve the openness of vaccination deployment statistics, there is still a lot we don't know.
The Northern Territory government, for example, refuses to disclose vaccination rates for isolated areas, preferring to group the figures into bigger regions that include whiter, larger, and better-vaccinated cities.
However, the disclosures about how the deployment was distributed across the nation may increase pressure on all governments to explain what they have been doing with their vaccines.
