About 3.8 million doses of the University of Oxford vaccine would be available in January and February next year for vulnerable Australians and front-line healthcare workers.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said both vaccines would need to be proven safe and effective and meet all necessary regulatory requirements prior to being made available.
“There are no guarantees that these vaccines will prove successful,however the agreement puts Australia at the top of the queue if our medical experts give the vaccines the green light,” he said.
He said by securing the production and supply agreements,Australians would be among the first in the world to receive a safe and effective vaccine.
The government signed a letter of intent to secure the University of Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine last month. It is the most progressed candidate,with late-stage phase three trials in Britain,Brazil,the United States and South Africa generating strong immune responses with no significant concerns.
The University of Queensland vaccine has been developed in Australia with government support and it was recently announced that pre-clinical testing had shown the vaccine was promising and already effective in animal models. Both of the vaccines are likely to require two doses for each person – an initial dose and then a booster.