Year 12 Students in Sydney Hotspots Will Get the Pfizer Vaccine

Rapid testing will also be rolled out to get Year 12s back to school.

With the number of confirmed coronavirus cases continuing to increase in New South Wales, students from Greater Sydney, the Blue Mountains, Central Coast, Wollongong and Shellharbour have been forced to learn from home for the past few weeks. 

Now, the NSW government has revealed their plan to get Year 12s back to school by Monday 16 August.

As reported by ABC, the NSW government will redirect around 40,000 Pfizer jabs from regional areas to ensure Year 12 students living in Sydney's high-risk areas are vaccinated. 

I think it's very moving that vaccines from regional NSW are being redirected to the Year 12 students of Western Sydney. Hope we city folks remember this gift next time the bush needs our help.

— richard glover (@rgloveroz) July 28, 2021

"I don't think anybody would begrudge us doing anything we can to get Year 12 students safely back to schools," NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian told the media.

Students living in the LGAs of Cumberland, Canterbury-Bankstown, Blacktown, Liverpool, Fairfield, Paramatta, Campbelltown and Georges River will be eligible for the vaccine.

Ms Berejiklian pointed out that students will only be able to return to class if they've taken up the vaccine offer. 

On top of that, the NSW government is working with suppliers to introduce rapid antigen testing for Year 12s, which involves taking a nose swab that is screened for proteins found on the surface of the virus.

These rapid antigen tests return results within minutes, and are being used in countries including the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada.

While face-to-face learning is ideal for Year 12s who have their HSCs coming up, the state's teachers' union has expressed it is "dumbfounded" by the decision to allow students back into classrooms from mid-August, given that case numbers are still rising.

As medical professionals have highlighted, there's evidence that the Delta COVID-19 variant poses more of a threat to children and young people than previous strains.

So, will HSCs still happen?

Yep.

At this stage, HSC written exams have been delayed for one week and are due to kick off on 19 October, while the deadline for all major works has been extended by two weeks.

Students should still receive their HSC results, ATAR and uni offers on 17 December. 

BREAKING: Year 12 students likely to be tested daily with rapid antigen tests to get them back in class. The testing regime expected to extend to essential workers across Sydney to ramp up fight against delta, and give greater and faster surveillance reach. @9NewsAUS

— Chris O'Keefe (@cokeefe9) July 27, 2021

How much longer will Sydney's lockdown last? 

It's hard to say. Yesterday, it was announced that Greater Sydney will remain locked down for another four weeks. 

Ms Berejiklian won't be introducing any curfews, because the NSW government believes the virus is mainly spreading among households and via essential workers.

So, it'll largely depend on whether case numbers start to decrease over the coming four weeks.

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, so we're keeping our fingers crossed that makes a difference. 

Today, NSW recorded another 239 COVID cases—the highest daily number since coronavirus first arrived in the state. 

Being in lockdown is tough for anyone, and it's super disappointing for Year 12s who are missing out on being with their mates during their final year of high school.

If you need some extra support, you can check out our article on how to cope with COVID lockdowns while studying. 

Really feel for the Sydney Year 12 students doing their HSC trials this upcoming school term.

— Kit Lowe (@kit_lowe) July 9, 2021

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Header Image: @mclee via Unsplash