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Just 39% of NSW residents over 70 are fully vaccinated against Covid, despite push for jabs

<span>Photograph: Mick Tsikas/EPA</span>
Photograph: Mick Tsikas/EPA

NSW is lagging behind many other states and territories when it comes to vaccinating its elderly population with fewer than 40% of over-70s fully vaccinated against Covid-19.

New data released by the federal government on Wednesday provides a state breakdown of national vaccination numbers for the first time. The figures reveal that of the almost 1 million people aged over 70 in NSW, 77% have received a first vaccine dose and 39% have received a second dose.

Victoria’s figures are similar, with 78% of its over-70s receiving one dose and 36% fully vaccinated.

Chart showing vaccination rates in New South Wales

This leaves more than a million people aged over 70 in NSW and Victoria either unvaccinated or having received just one dose against the highly contagious Delta variant.

Related: Scott Morrison announces extra financial support for locked-down Sydney

NSW lags behind Queensland, Tasmania, the ACT and the Northern Territory on vaccination rates and is only on par with the national average despite a concerted push over recent weeks to boost vaccine uptake.

Greater Sydney is now in its fifth week of lockdown as authorities try to control a growing Covid outbreak.

The federal government data shows the fully vaccinated figure is only marginally better for the oldest cohorts in NSW – with just 41% of those aged 80 to 84 having two doses and about half of those over the age of 90 receiving both jabs.

About 8 million people (39%) over the age of 16 in Australia have received a single dose of the vaccine

For those over the age of 50 in NSW, one in four is fully vaccinated (25%), while across the state’s entire adult population, the figure is less than one in five (17%).

Across all states and territories, the Northern Territory has achieved the highest vaccination rates, with 53% of those over 70 – about 12,000 people – fully vaccinated.

South Australia has the country’s lowest vaccination rate for the over-70s, according to the commonwealth data, with only 35% having received both doses of a vaccine.

Related: Cautious welcome for rapid antigen tests to control Sydney Covid outbreak, despite reliability concerns

Nationally, the figures show about 8 million people (39%) over the age of 16 have received a single dose of the vaccine, and 3.5 million people (17%) are fully vaccinated.

The data shows a sharp increase over the past month as more vaccine supplies have come on stream, with the vaccination rate jumping from 30% for a single dose and 7.92% fully vaccinated since the beginning of July.

On Wednesday, the prime minister, Scott Morrison, said the national vaccination rate was running at more than a million doses a week, helped by the upgraded advice from the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (Atagi) on the use of AstraZeneca.

“With what we’re seeing, bar any unforeseen events, then I believe by the end of the year we will be in that position where everyone who’s had the opportunity for a vaccine will have had it, and to ensure that Australians have joined that task in achieving the highest vaccination rates possible,” Morrison said.

“I would expect by Christmas we will be seeing a very different Australia to what we’re seeing now.”

The national cabinet will on Friday consider modelling from the Doherty institute as it seeks to set new vaccination targets linked to the easing of restrictions and the end of state border closures and lockdowns.

Morrison said he was hopeful lockdowns would be a “thing of the past” once vaccination rates were higher.

“What we’re seeing overseas is when countries do reach those much higher vaccination rates, then that does give their governments a lot more options in the suppression limitations they have to use to deal with the virus. Lockdowns become a thing of the past when you’re at that level,” the prime minister said.

“We are setting the targets scientifically, combined with the economic advice as well, and that gets us a roadmap to Christmas.”

The NSW premier, Gladys Berejiklian, who has been pushing for the state to be given more of the national Pfizer vaccine stocks, has been urging residents to get vaccinated, saying that was the only way to end state lockdowns and protect the community.

“My message to everybody is please come forward and get the vaccine,” she said this week. “Not only are you protecting yourself, but you’re protecting those closest to you.”

The NSW government has indicated a vaccination rate of 80% would be needed before Covid restrictions were ended and interstate travel could resume without the risk of state border closures.