Under 40s can now book their Pfizer jabs as 50,000 doses bound for SA from Poland

Pfizer vaccinations are now open to South Australians aged under 40 – and the Premier says he expects a surge in bookings, aided by a boost to supplies after a federal deal.

An extra 50,000 Pfizer doses will reach South Australia after a national stockpile of one million doses of the vaccine has been successfully secured from Poland.

Premier Steven Marshall said the 50,000 Pfizer doses from Poland allocated to SA comes as the state’s vaccine program this morning expanded to include Pfizer jabs for South Australians aged 16 and over.

Mr Marshall said the number of doses provided to each state and territory was based on their respective populations, except for New South Wales.

More than 500,000 Pfizer doses arriving from Poland will be prioritised for express delivery to NSW after the state’s “most concerning day” of 466 local coronavirus cases was recorded on Saturday, along with four more deaths.

Premier Steven Marshall said 50,000 extra doses were on the way. Picture: Naomi Jellicoe

Mr Marshall said the Polish Pfizer doses were “our path out of the current arrangements with border restrictions”.

He said he expected a surge of Covid-vaccine bookings on Monday morning when South Australians aged 16 and over became eligible to book for a Pfizer jab for the first time.

“My strong message to anybody who is currently in the cohort of 40-59 (years old) is that they should be going (online) and making sure that they can get their booking in place because as of (today) it opens up to a completely new cohort,” he said.

SA Health is warning South Australians to be patient today with high demand for vaccine appointments and an increase in overall online traffic expected. “Please be patient if you experience any delays,” a spokeswoman said.

SA did not record any new cases of Covid-19 yesterday, with more than 4900 tests carried out on Saturday.

A man in his 20s remains in a stable condition in intensive care at the Royal Adelaide Hospital.

The first delivery of Pfizer vaccines from Warsaw arrived in Australia last night, after Prime Minister Scott Morrison inked a deal with his Polish counterpart to buy one million doses for an undisclosed amount.

“A key factor in being able to secure these doses from our Polish friends has been that we have had a significant outbreak in our largest city (Sydney),” Mr Morrison said.

“My government will continue to leave no stone unturned in ensuring that where there are (purchase) opportunities such as these, we will secure them.”

Asked if Mr Morrison was working with other allies, like the US, to gain more vaccines, the prime minister highlighted his priority to increase Australia’s “engagement” with Europe.

The US has been criticised for failing to help Australia as a long-term ally, with celebrities like gold legend Greg Norman demanding it send vaccines to its “little brother”.

For more information, call the SA COVID-19 information line on 1800 253 787 or visit sahealth.sa.gov.au/COVID19.