The Health Minister (pictured above) says he is still certain that a COVID-19 vaccine will be rolled out in 2021 after Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced Australia secured access to two more potential vaccines.
“We have growing confidence that we’re on track for a vaccine rollout commencing in about March of next year,” he told Sky News yesterday.
“This comes on the fact that at a time when the world is seeing an accelerating virus, in Australia we’re down to just a handful of cases or potentially zero on any one day.”
Under a $1.5 billion deal made this week, Australia would have access to up to 40 million doses of a drug produced by US biotech company Novavax, and 10 million doses of an alternative drug produced by Pfizer and BioNTech.
Both vaccines – currently in advanced clinical trials – are expected to be available in Australia from early next year if they pass approval by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA).
The Federal Government has now spent over $3.2 billion to gain access to coronavirus vaccines, including the candidates being developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford and the University of Queensland and Australian manufacturer CSL (Seqirus).
As we reported on Tuesday, health and aged care workers and elderly Australians will be the first to gain access to a vaccine which will not be mandatory, but will be free of charge.
Vaccinations will be available from GPs, GP respiratory clinics, state and territory vaccination sites and workplaces including aged care homes.
