Supermarket workers in south-west Sydney to get priority access to Pfizer vaccine

Supermarket workers in south-west Sydney will soon have priority access to the Pfizer vaccine via pop-up clinics and appointments at the Sydney Olympic Park mass vaccination hub.

The announcement comes after the New South Wales chief health officer, Dr Kerry Chant, said it was crucial to vaccinate essential workers in the area because they kept the city functioning.

“We are very keen to provide access to those critical workers that are required to keep Sydney running,” she said.

“They do a lot of the work in distribution centres, food, logistics, transport.”

“At this point in time, vaccinations are not the whole answer, and we need to maintain the lockdown as tight as possible,” she said.

In a joint statement, Woolworths, Aldi, Metcash and Coles said they had secured special access to the vaccine for their workers, specifically those in Fairfield, Liverpool, Canterbury-Bankstown, Cumberland and Blacktown, who face stricter restrictions than the rest of the city.

“A highly targeted Covid-19 vaccine rollout has been developed for workers at critical food distribution centres for NSW, and those who work in supermarkets within the five designated LGAs.”

The change means workers will be able to access the Pfizer vaccine at the Sydney Olympic Park mass vaccination hub from Wednesday, where 500 appointments will be made available to them every weekday.

“The restrictions on movement in and out of the five most-affected LGAs mean that local residents are relying on our stores in these areas more than ever before,” the companies said.

“Increasing the rate of vaccination among teams in these stores will not only play a role in helping western Sydney communities reduce the spread, but also protect access to food and essentials for local residents.”

In a statement sent to workers on Monday, Woolworths CEO, Brad Banducci, said that pop-up clinics would also be developed at the company’s distribution centres in Yennora, Minchinbury and Lidcombe.

“This reflects the essential nature of these sites as part of New South Wales food infrastructure. Once established, we expect all team members working on-site at these locations to have access to the clinics and vaccinations.”

“It is now clear that accelerating the rate of vaccination in Australia is key to protecting our communities and loved ones and the easing of restrictions.”

Banducci said details on how the distribution of the vaccine will work would be provided to workers “shortly”, but it is understood retail workers will have access via a separate process for them.

NSW Health confirmed they would be provided with information to make appointments at the vaccination hub and will be required to bring proof of their employment.

The pop-up clinics will exclusively be used to vaccinate staff at the distribution centres.

Bernie Smith, the NSW secretary for the SDA, the union for retail, fast food and warehouse workers, welcomed the change, and said the union had been advocating for it for some time.

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“The union congratulates the retailers on securing this priority access to Pfizer vaccines for essential workers in these supermarkets, online retail centres and warehouses.”

“This is a significant breakthrough in protecting the health of frontline retail workers, ensuring the community retains access to the essentials of life during the protracted lockdown in Australia’s biggest city.”

Smith said the union had been calling for priority access to vaccines for retail and supermarket workers, and said it was time governments prioritised all frontline workers.

“All supermarket, petrol station and warehouse workers must get priority access to age appropriate vaccines.”

“If vaccine supply is still tight, the SDA calls on the NSW government to offer first priority to all supermarket and warehouse workers living and working in the five locked down LGAs for age appropriate vaccines.”