HUNTER residents who had their second dose of COVID-19 vaccine three months ago will be eligible for a booster shot by the end of the week.
It comes as PCR tests captured almost 2000 new COVID cases in the Hunter New England region, and there were more than 1,200 positive rapid antigen test results reported in the region.
Across NSW, there were 32 deaths associated with the virus as the state recorded almost 32,300 positive cases in the 24 hours to 8pm Tuesday. These included 12,450 positive rapid antigen tests and 19,847 positive PCR tests.
Of the people who died, three people were aged in their 40s, three were in their 60s, eight people were in their 70s, 11 were in their 80s and seven were in their 90s.
Of the 217 people currently in intensive care units across NSW with COVID-19, 92 are not vaccinated.
"If you have 95 per cent of the population vaccinated, and 5 per cent who are not, yet you have almost half of the unvaccinated sitting in intensive care units, it gives a clear message - get vaccinated," Health Minister Brad Hazzard said.
More than 50 per cent of eligible people have so far had their booster in NSW.
But "millions" more people in NSW will be eligible for a COVID booster vaccination from Friday, January 21, after NSW Health brought the interval between doses forward by a month.
"In our 40 vaccination hubs across NSW, we will be bringing forward the eligibility for a booster shot from four months to three months," NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet said.
Bringing the interval forward would enable more than 3.5 million more people in the state to become eligible for the booster. The state hubs have the capacity to deliver about 250,000 vaccinations every week.
Newcastle lord mayor Nuatali Nelmes has expressed "deep concern" that NSW Health is no longer publishing the local breakdowns of COVID-19 case numbers.
Newcastle City Council passed a lord mayoral minute this week to write to the NSW Premier and the Health Minister to encourage the state to reinstate the reporting of daily local case numbers.
A spokesperson for Hunter New England Health said the district had made the decision to cease providing local case updates as the numbers were no longer an "accurate reflection" of COVID-19 across the region.
"Our focus is to communicate public health messaging that best serves the community and we will continue to educate on behaviours that stop the further spread of this virus," she said.
"We continue to report daily hospitalisation, ICU numbers and other important public health messaging to protect the community from COVID-19."
The spokesperson said that while NSW Health had begun reporting RAT results, they were not broken down to an LGA level.
Chief Health Officer, Dr Kerry Chant, said NSW Health would begin providing more information about COVID deaths to help the public better understand the associated underlying health conditions that are contributing to "poor outcomes".
"I really want a sense of urgency for the boosters, particularly for those older individuals and people with underlying health conditions," Dr Chant said.
