Residents in the Canterbury-Bankstown district will be able to get their much sought after COVID-19 vaccinations at Belmore Sports Ground after Sydney's first drive-thru vaccination hub opened at the iconic venue on Friday.

Back to Belmore Patron Luke Brailey said he was pleased with the response from the public in Belmore coming out to get vaccinated.

“When Back to Belmore first took up the challenge to advocate the preservation and restoration of Belmore Sports Ground in 2005, we never envisaged the historic sporting facility playing a pivotal role in eliminating and obliterating a deadly virus in our own backyard.” said Mr Brailey.

“This is probably the most beautiful sporting facility in the world. The fact that this venue is now going to be used to get jabs in arms in the middle of a pandemic is a wonderful thing. We commend the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, the City of Canterbury Bankstown, the Hon. Sophie Cotsis MP, the Hon. Tony Burke MP and the indefatigable Dr Jamal Rifi AM, a true pillar of the community, for embracing this very worthwhile initiative by working together in a collaborative and cohesive manner for the benefit of our local area to stop the spread of COVID-19.

“The higher the vaccination rates in the Canterbury-Bankstown district, the lower the amount of severe illness and death from coronavirus, and the better off we are in ensuring a lower mortality rate but it behoves the NSW Government to ensure that this hub – which is situated in an LGA of concern – has an abundance of doses at all times. From a medical perspective the vaccines are considered safe, they do not contain any prohibited or illegal substances and they have met the rigorous clinical standards of the TGA (Therapeutic Goods Administration) – the governing body for regulating medication in Australia. The risks are miniscule and the rewards are substantial. If you haven't done so already, please get vaccinated. The sooner we all get vaccinated, the sooner we can get back to some sort of normality.”

New South Wales last week reached two significant vaccination milestones with 80% of the eligible population receiving at least their first dose and 50% of the eligible population receiving their second dose. The drive-thru clinic at Belmore Sports Ground – which offers Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines – will operate on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays for the next six weeks.