That is the message to eligible people putting off getting a Covid vaccination.

Spokesman for the Southern Highlands Division of General Practice Dr Vince Roche said that people delaying an Astra Zeneca vaccination, in the hope that they could soon be eligible for a Pfizer jab, would be disappointed.

He added that such a decision "could be risky" in the event of an outbreak.

Dr Roche's message comes amid concerns that while there was a strong turn out for vaccinations in people aged over 70, far fewer people in the 50-69 years age bracket have stepped up for the jab.

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He said that this could be due to several reasons including people not wanting to rush and overwhelm doctors, mixed messages "from politicians and in the media" regarding side effects, and some people were waiting in hope of getting the alternate Pfizer vaccination at a later date.

Dr Roche said it was very unlikely that Pfizer would be available to people over 50 in the months to come.

"There is simply not enough Pfizer around and this is largely due to the challenge of storing the product at -60 degrees," he said.

However, the Pfizer vaccine was expected to soon be available to people aged 40-50 years.

Dr Roche said he understood some people were concerned about the risk of blood clots from Astra Zeneca.

But he was quick to point out that that they were at greater risk when they hopped into their car.

"The incidence of side-effects, both short term and serious, are about the same for both vaccination options," he said.

"Unfortunately the potential for blood clots has attracted the most attention and this has captured our imaginations and our fears causing people to hold off getting an Astra Zeneca vaccination."

Dr Roche said the possibility of blood clots occurring with Astra Zeneca was about one in 250,000 and the possibility of death from blood clots from the same vaccination was one in a million.

"Furthermore, we now know what to look for in people and have become very good at treatment so the current mortality rate is likely to drop further," he said.

There is no indicator prior to vaccination as to who could be prone to blood clots.

"The clotting problem bears no relationship to underlying conditions, previous blood clotting or being on blood thinners," Dr Roche said.

"It is a select immune response where, it appears, that components of the vaccination react with blood platelets in very rare occasions.

"Anyone who has a severe headache following vaccination should get checked out as there is good treatment available."

Dr Roche said younger people, and younger women in particular, were at greatest risk of the special blood clot side effect from an Astra Zeneca.

As such Astra Zeneca is not being given to people under the age of 50 in Australia.

Dr Roche said that in the United Kingdom the cut off for Astra Zeneca was people aged under 30, however, Australia's cut off was far more conservative.

Anyone aged over 50 can now register for the Astra Zeneca vaccination.

Dr Roche said this could be done in several ways.

These include searching the internet for NSW vaccination hubs, making a booking with participating general practitioners or going to a vaccination hub in larger cities such as Sydney or Wollongong.

He said that people aged 40-50 could now also register through a NSW hub for the, soon to be available, Pfizer vaccination.

He also stressed that the current research showed that the Astra Zeneca vaccine was as effective as the Pfizer vaccine in terms of preventing serious illness, hospital admission and death, and that there ought not be a preference for the Pfizer vaccine based on the belief that it was a better vaccine or a safer vaccine for the over 50s.

Participating medical practices in the Southern Highlands include:

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