Health Minister Greg Hunt said the government expects to receive 3.3 million doses over the next three weeks,and will distribute about 500,000 doses per week to states,territories and GP clinics.
“We’ve also received another shipment of Pfizer. That arrived yesterday;159,000 doses,” Mr Hunt said on Wednesday morning. “And so,the program is accelerating at a significant rate.”
As of Monday evening,312,502 vaccinations have been administered across the country,including 62,262 doses in aged care. In NSW,72,943 vaccines have been administered,and 61,766 in Victoria.
It’s behind initial targets of having all 680,000 people in phase 1a vaccinated within six weeks,and four million vaccinated by the end of March. Those targets were set back due todelays with the Europe-produced AstraZeneca.
But now local supply is secure,the government is no longer relying on getting any of the remaining 3.1 million AstraZeneca doses contracted to Australia from Europe.
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”It may come at some stage later in the year but at the moment,now that we’ve got the local production,it’s less important to us,” Professor Murphy told estimates.
Mr Hunt said he was confident the rollout would stay on track.
“We remain on track on all the advice that we have for the first doses to be available to all of the general population that seek it,before the end of October - and that remains the guidance,” he said.
AstraZeneca Australia Country President Liz Chatwin said the company hoped to reach 1 million doses in four to five weeks.
“It’s a really important day for all Australians,” she said.
It took a mammoth effort to see approved vaccine going out to clinics around the country,Dr Menner said.
“We’ve really gotten to an incredible place in a space that no one thought possible,” she said.
With Liam Mannix