Jacquie Lambie issues desperate plea to all Australians amid COVID chaos
Tasmanian Senator Jacquie Lambie has issued a plea to all Australians as Victoria faces the prospect of its fifth lockdown since the pandemic started.
With Victoria and NSW both grappling with outbreaks, the politician has urged every citizen who is eligible to get a COVID-19 vaccine.
"For the sake of the country, for the sake of your neighbour, go and have those shots," Senator Lambie said.
"I have had my first shot. I will be looking forward to get my second one in the next few weeks."
READ MORE: 'Australia now stands as a warning': UK paper slams vaccine rollout
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Jacqui Lambie said she decided to get jabbed 'for the sake of the elderly' in Tasmania. Today
Senator Lambie said the highly-infectious Delta strain has changed the situation.
"We know that that Delta variant really bites," she said, adding the vaccine rollout was bungled early as there were not enough mRNA vaccines like Pfizer on offer.
"We have to get those vaccines moving.
"People are at the end of their tether a lot more people wanting to step up to the plate to get those vaccines."
Long lines at the NSW Health Vaccination Centre in Homebush, Sydney have become commonplace as the city grapples with a COVID-19 outbreak. Cole Bennetts
Australia has administered around 9.5 million doses of COVID vaccines, since the rollout began in late February.
Senator Lambie said hospitals need to be shored up to combat an increase in patients.
ICU wards across Sydney are seeing an increasein patients as Delta spreads throughout the city. 9News
"Get the hospitals organised," she said.
"I can tell you now Karl, if it hits here in Tasmania I don't know about the public health system in NSW, here in Tasmania we are stuffed mate.
"We're struggling to keep up with our aged care and (there's) ramping going on down here like no tomorrow.
"If that thing hits our hospitals, we are gone here in Tasmania."
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