Mr Hicks was the Riverina's MP for 18 years and recently received the AstraZeneca vaccine. He said he was motivated to positively contribute to the roll-out effort.

"I felt there was an opportunity to positively contribute to this campaign by lending my voice and encouraging people to roll up their sleeves just as I have done," Mr Hicks said.

"It's so important to get the herd immunity up. I was in an orphanage back in the polio outbreak and you saw people in the big iron lungs."

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Mr Hicks said that he was encouraging everyone to get the vaccine as soon as they were eligible, and that it would only take one human error to have a COVID outbreak here.

"You've seen what's happened in Sydney. People come from Sydney and Melbourne, one human error and we're all in trouble ... that's why I got it. When you're 80, your time is limited anyway but it's for the community."

Dr Marion Reeves said that work in raising awareness of the need to be vaccinated wasn't done and that it would remain critically important.

"Our aim is to ensure people are educated and well informed so they are confident when it is their turn to receive a vaccine," she explained.

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