Queensland’s desperate plea for more vaccine rejected as state ‘days from running out’ of Pfizer

Queensland has been denied an urgent request for more Pfizer doses, revealing the state is just days away from running out. It comes as the Premier urges under 40s to ignore the PM’s jab advice.

The Federal Government has rejected desperate pleas from Queensland authorities to supply extra doses of the Pfizer vaccine despite the locked-down state being just days away from running out.

It comes as Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Chief Health Officer Dr Jeanette Young took the extraordinary step of urging young Australians to ignore Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s suggestion to get the controversial AstraZeneca jab, saying they ‘don’t want young Australians to die’ due to the jab.

Doctors and the Queensland Government have been angered over comments made by Prime Minister Scott Morrison suggesting younger people could opt to get the AstraZeneca jab from their GP and Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has denied that was agreed to by the National Cabinet.

Dr Young today became the first chief health officer to unequivocally speak out against younger people getting the vaccine, currently recommended for over 60s, saying ‘I don’t want under 40s to get the AstraZeneca vaccine’.

“They are at increased risk of getting that rare clotting syndrome,” she said.

“We’ve seen up to 49 deaths in the UK from that syndrome.

“I don’t want an 18-year-old in Queensland dying from a clotting illness when, if they got Covid, they probably wouldn’t die.

Queensland Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young urged young Australians not to get the AstraZeneca jab. Picture: Dan Peled

“We’ve had very few deaths due to Covid-19 in Australia in people under the age of 50 and wouldn’t it be terrible that our first 18-year-old in Queensland who dies related to this pandemic died because of the vaccine.

“I genuinely don’t understand his (Prime Minister) process.”

Queensland Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said she was ‘disappointed’ her request for 152,100 more Pfizer doses was denied by the Commonwealth and warned some vaccination sites, including on the Sunshine Coast, were projected to run out of crucial Pfizer jab within eight days.

She said it would mean Queensland’s vaccination rollout would be slowed and they would not be able to meet all pre-booked vaccination appointments.

As Queensland went into a snap three-day lockdown amid a high-risk Delta strain outbreak, Ms D’Ath said she requested extra doses, hoping she’d be granted the request like Victoria which was given 100,000 extra doses when they entered lockdown several weeks ago.

Queensland is close to running out of Pfizer. (Photo by MARTIN BUREAU / AFP)

“We are calling on people to get vaccinated. However we are running out of stock on Pfizer,” she said.

“The Director General of Health (John Wakefield) wrote to Lieutenant General John Frewen (in charge of Australia’s vaccination program) yesterday and asked if we could get an extra 152,100 doses, so an extra 130 trays.

“The reason we gave is that we are at critical levels and that - at some of our sites - we are projected to run out of Pfizer by as soon as week 20, that’s July 5 – next Monday.

“We have been advised that we will not be provided additional vaccines of Pfizer.”

Ms D’Ath said “We are only getting 64,000 doses a week, we got a delivery of 45,000 yesterday which - on our calculations - will give us 8 days stock.”

She claimed Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s suggestion that people under 40 get the AstraZeneca jab was because the Commonwealth did not have supply of Pfizer.

“We are getting to that point where will have to start prioritising only second doses if the Commonwealth do not have any vaccine left and they need to tell us,” she said.

“Is what they gave Victoria the end of it? Have we only got what is allocated and no contingency stock left until that big delivery in October because we all need to know.

“Maybe this is why the Prime Minister’s come out and suggested that under 40s get AstraZeneca but we have to act on the TGA and ATAGI’s advice in relation to that.

“It can’t simply be because we have a lot of stock of one vaccine and not enough of the other to start recommending that people get a particular vaccine. That advice should always be based on clinical advice.”

She called on the Commonwealth to reveal how much supply they had.

“I am disappointed we have been denied any extra vaccine,” she said.

“I would welcome the Commonwealth telling us how much vaccine they currently have.”

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said ‘this isn’t the time to be risking the health of young Australians’ by ignoring the health advice not to vaccinate under 40s with AstraZeneca.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said she does not want to go against the health advice. (Photo by Jono Searle/Getty Images)

Deputy Premier Steven Miles said Queensland would ‘only provide people with a vaccine that is medically advised for them’.

“We will not overrule the health advice,” he said.

Dr said she had not been able to speak to Mr Morrison around his AstraZeneca announcement “to understand his thought processes”.

“The Premier announced in National Cabinet that there wasn’t a discussion so I genuinely don’t understand his processes.

“I know an urgent meeting has been called by the Commonwealth today with chief health officers to talk this through.”

She said all of the nation’s chief health officers were on the same page in supporting the recommendations that only over 60s get the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Younger people not already able to get Pfizer should wait for more supplies of that vaccine rather than try to get AstraZeneca, she said.

Meanwhile, the leading pharmaceutical body in Australia is calling on the Federal Government to “activate” the 800 plus pharmacies they deemed eligible for vaccine inoculation earlier this year.

The Acting President of the Queensland Branch of the Pharmacy Guild of Australia, Chris Owen, said the Federal Government has activated just 49 of 858 pre-approved pharmacies.

“More needs to be done to protect Queenslanders from the spread of COVID-19 and increase local vaccine access points,” Mr Owen said.

“The lack of action in allowing all Community Pharmacies to actively vaccinate smacks of bureaucratic mis-management and a bias towards other primary healthcare models.”

The expressions of interest process with the Federal Government started in March this year.

“Without all Community Pharmacies activated, the vaccine rollout plan is an eight-cylinder car running on two cylinders,” he said.

“Queenslanders are now having to endure further social and economic despair due to lockdowns.”

Mr Owen said while the 49 locations are a great start there is still a lot of work to be done.

“The Queensland Government has recognised this and requested the Commonwealth activate all Community Pharmacies in Queensland,” he said.

“The Queensland Government clearly understands the value of Community Pharmacy, why doesn’t Canberra?”