SA Health backflips on pledge to older Pfizer holdouts

A pledge by SA authorities not to penalise people waiting for Pfizer jabs is off the table after the PM warned over-60s to get AZ or risk going to the back of the queue.

SA Health has backflipped on a pledge people aged over 60 would not be penalised if they waited for the Pfizer vaccine.

In July SA Health authorities told the Sunday Mail people aged over 60 would not go to the back of the queue if they waited for Pfizer, saying: “Those currently eligible to receive AstraZeneca who choose to wait to receive Pfizer will not be negatively impacted.”

But as revealed by The Advertiser on Thursday, the federal government now says 9.8 million people aged 12-39 who become eligible from this week will take priority for new Pfizer supplies due to arrive next month

Asked by The Advertiser if it would stick to its pledge – and whether it was SA or federal authorities who make the decision on who has priority – an SA Health spokesman said: “We are following clinical advice to determine which vaccine should be used for which age group.”

It says officials “continue to investigate opportunities to increase the rates of vaccinations among older people.”

It comes as an exclusive News Corp survey shows SA has the highest rate in the nation of people who “haven’t been vaccinated and don’t want to be”, with 20 per cent of 416 SA respondents choosing this response to a question on vaccine attitudes.

However, Premier Steven Marshall said latest figures showed more than 418,000 vaccine doses were administered across the state in August.

This was more than 100,000 extra doses than July.

SA Health Minister Stephen Wade. Picture: Naomi Jellicoe

Total vaccinations now stand at 1,284,780.

“I am not seeing vaccine hesitancy in SA,” Mr Marshall said.

“What I am seeing is South Australians want to get vaccinated, this is our path out of the pandemic.”

Health and Wellbeing Minister Stephen Wade said more pop-up clinics would be established this month, while mobile vaccination units would be run out of the Wayville, Elizabeth and Noarlunga clinics.

“We are determined to do everything we can to get South Australians vaccinated as soon as possible,” Mr Wade said.

SA Health said almost 85 per cent of South Australians aged 70 and over had received at least one vaccine dose.

SA recorded no new community cases on Thursday, but added four to the tally – two interstate truckies previously announced, and two overseas arrivals in medi-hotels.

A total of 462 contacts have been identified and contacted from all exposure locations linked to multiple infected truckies, and are in quarantine, with 86 per cent so far returning a negative result so far.