Australian states squabble as NSW seeks COVID vaccine priority

FILE PHOTO: People wait outside a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccination centre at Sydney Olympic Park in Sydney, Australia, July 14, 2021. REUTERS/Jane Wardell/File Photo

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia's largest state of New South Wales on Friday urged the federal government to divert vaccine doses to Sydney, the epicentre of a flaring COVID-19 outbreak, raising objections from other states desperate for protection from the virus.

The Sydney outbreak has ballooned to nearly 1,800 cases since mid-June, and NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian branded the situation a "national emergency".".