The Hon. Brad Hazzard MP
Minister for Health
wakehurst@parliament.nsw.gov.au
We are writing regarding the recent announcement of the distribution of Pfizer vaccine at the University of Sydney Health Service.
We appreciate that the government is prioritising University of Sydney students and staff in the national vaccination plan and offering them an opportunity to receive the Pfizer vaccine on campus.
As we understand, the vaccine is available to all staff, students, and their spouses and dependents, who are Medicare card holders.
Many international students don’t have Medicare cards, so they are not able to receive the Pfizer vaccine at the University Health Service.
We believe that everyone should have fair and equitable access to the Pfizer vaccine, especially international students who are particularly vulnerable during the pandemic.
The Delta variant is highly transmissible and can cause severe disease, even among young individuals. In line with the government’s initiative, it is imperative to ensure that vaccination coverage is as high as possible. Reducing barriers to vaccination and enabling our international student population to gain equal access to the Pfizer vaccine helps to achieve this goal.
The NSW government is urging international students to come forward and get vaccinated. A new purpose-built website to help international students find information and book vaccination appointments is mentioned in the government’s media release dated 8 September 2021. We support fair and equitable access to the health system, and we urge you to consider distributing the Pfizer vaccine to all students and staff members on university campuses, including international students without Medicare cards.
We thank you for your consideration.
Yours sincerely,
Di Wang
SUPRA Co-Vice President
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