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AAP
AAP
Health
Hannah Ryan

Vaccines key to open borders: NSW premier

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian doesn't want to be closed off to the world longer than needed. (AAP)

The NSW premier says more Australians need to be vaccinated before we can have a conversation about opening the nation's borders.

"I don't want us to be closed off from the world longer than we need to," Gladys Berejiklian told reporters on Tuesday.

Ms Berejiklian appears keener to open borders than Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who is sticking to a mid-2022 timeline.

Ms Berejiklian says community safety always has to come first, "but we also believe that you can make some decisions about easing restrictions or opening up to the rest of the world, with facts and science backing you".

"We're not in a position to have those conversations until we get cracking and that's why I'm really keen to make sure we provide a safe vaccine to as much of our population as soon as possible," the premier said.

Her treasurer Dominic Perrottet is also urging clarity on when borders will open.

He told ABC radio on Tuesday it's a "very difficult conversation" to have with Australians because allowing travellers in means the virus will re-enter the country.

"We can sit here on the other side of the world and remain closed or we can actually understand where the federal health officials are coming from and saying, well whether it's vaccination rates or any other measures, this is what success looks like, and once we get to this point, we'll open up those borders and rejoin the world," he said.

The federal government has so far shied away from identifying a threshold of vaccinations that would allow border restrictions to ease.

Ms Berejiklian said five millions adults in NSW will need to get the jab before international borders can open, the premier said. That's ten million doses in total for the state's six million adults.

Nearly one million doses have been administered in NSW so far.

She urged people over 50 who might be holding out on getting the AstraZeneca jab over blood clot fears to get the vaccine.

"I don't think it's a good idea to wait. If you have access to a vaccine please take it, please have a conversation with your GP if you're worried about it, if you have underlying health issues," she said.

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