COVID-19 vaccines will be rolled out simultaneously on the Border with GPs to be the primary providers.
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Those were two key messages from the Murrumbidgee Local Health District which on Wednesday flagged plans for the rollout of vaccine doses in the Riverina.
Director Primary Health Care Alam Yoosuff said because the Commonwealth was overseeing the process the vaccine would be available in NSW and Victoria concurrently.
"There won't be an issue with state border-related stuff because everybody will get the same vaccine, same mechanism, same timing," Dr Yoosuff said.
He said the rollout was expected to occur in February-March with the most vulnerable, those aged 70-plus living in nursing homes, the top priority.
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Dr Yoosuff said GPs would be at the forefront of overseeing the application of the vaccine in the Riverina and across the country.
The health district's infectious diseases specialist Tim Gilbey said talks had begun with GPs over vaccine procedures.
He said the warmer storage needs for the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine meant it was more likely to be used in our area than those which need very low temperatures.
"We certainly don't have that capacity at the moment ... it would be challenging with current infrastructure and much more costly to transport," Dr Gilbey said during a media conference in Wagga on Wednesday.
On the Border, Albury Wodonga Health is planning for the delivery of a vaccine to those across its region.
It has storage equipment ready for doses delivered to its hospitals.
Albury Wodonga Health's director of pandemic response Leisa Bridges said plans were progressed.
"In preparation for an approved vaccine, our infection control team is working through the early planning process," she said.
"This includes creating patient consent forms, and formulating a communications strategy on how the local community will be notified of vaccine availability."
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