Moderna Covid-19 vaccine to roll out around September 20: Greg Hunt

The first doses of the Moderna vaccines are due to arrive in Australia next week and be made available to pharmacists from about September 20.

Community pharmacies are preparing to administer millions of doses of Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine. Picture: AFP

The first doses of the Moderna vaccines are due to arrive in Australia next week and be made available to pharmacists from about September 20, Health Minister Greg Hunt confirmed late on Sunday night.

A spokesman for the Minister confirmed to The Australian that the first doses would arrive in coming days and be batch tested by the regulator, the Therapeutic Goods Administration, before being cleared to be distributed across thousands of community pharmacies.

It comes as the Health Department told The Australian that the first doses were not expected until late September, pushing out the original guidance by about two weeks. But the Minister’s office said it had received confirmation on Sunday that the doses would arrive as originally planned.

The news follows Treasurer Josh Frydenberg rallying 80 of Australia’s biggest businesses to support the end of lockdowns and easing of border restrictions once the national vaccination rate reaches 80 per cent.

But vaccination appointments have become increasingly rare after the government opened eligibility for the Pfizer jab to 16 to 40-year-olds, while those aged 12 to 15 who are in a priority group can also get the shot. Meanwhile, vaccination seems now the only way out of NSW and Victoria’s lockdowns, with the notion of suppressing the virus to zero cases now an elusive goal.

However, the arrival on Sunday of almost 300,000 Pfizer doses as part of a swap deal with the UK, and with another 160,000 doses expected to arrive later in the evening, could ease the strain on demand.

The government is expecting to boost the rollout with an extra four million doses of Pfizer this month in the swap deal with Britain. This is on top of the 500,000 Pfizer doses due this month after striking a vaccine swap deal with Singapore.

If all goes to plan, this means millions of extra vaccines will start flowing from this month to the end of the year, meaning more appointments will become available as supply increases.

Community pharmacies had been planning to administer the Moderna vaccine from the middle of this month, after Health Minister Greg Hunt three weeks ago said doses were expected from that date.

But pharmacists and some of the bigger chemist groups contacted by The Australian said they were yet to receive an exact date. Meanwhile, the powerful Pharmacy Guild declined to comment.

Asked when the Moderna shots were expected to arrive, Mr Hunt’s office initially reiterated the Minister earlier remarks: “We’d see an extra million in September, probably more towards the middle of September, but we haven’t got final guidance.”

But when pressed for more up to date information, Mr Hunt’s office deferred to the Health Department, where a spokesman clarified that it was not expecting the Moderna shots until at least the end of the month.

“The Australian government is anticipating the arrival of the first shipment of the Moderna (Spikevax) vaccine in late September,” the Health Department spokesman said.

“The first shipment will be one million doses and the remaining nine million doses will be delivered over the remainder of the year ensuring a steady supply for administration of first and second doses. After delivery, once the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) completes its standard batch release processes, these doses will be put to immediate use.

“The National Covid Vaccine Taskforce plans to supply Moderna to approximately 3500 pharmacies across the country. This will be delivered in a staged approach with around 1200 pharmacies coming on board in the first month.”

Australian Medical Association president Omar Khorshid was confident that 80 per cent of the population would be vaccinated by the end of the year, paving the way for a reopening of the nation.

“Appointments available right now with GPs are only assuming the static supply of vaccine,” Dr Khorshid said.

“But as the vaccine becomes more available, there’ll be more GPs enrolled in the program, there’ll be more pharmacists, obviously providing the Moderna vaccine as well, and there will be more appointments available to Australians.

“So while it looks like you can only make an appointment in December now that situation will change, because we are expecting very large amounts of Pfizer in particular coming into the country through September and October.”

Still, until those extra doses arrive it will be difficult to adhere to state vaccination policies, like NSW’s mandatory jabs for health workers.

While Australia’s second biggest private hospital operator Healthscope implemented the NSW policy before it was made official, the nation’s biggest private operator Ramsay – which also operates pharmacies – was more cautious.

Ramsay chief executive Craig McNally said last week it was also difficult to mandate vaccinations – even for health workers – given doses remained in short supply, particularly in regional areas, and the government must fix access problems.

“We’ve got a significant part of our staff based in regional areas and they need access because we’re not getting a mandate if they can’t get access,” Mr McNally said.

“While there is a priority given to healthcare workers, it doesn’t mean that they necessarily have access and so (it) has to be sorted out.

“We’re absolute supporters of vaccination, but some of the practicalities and realities need to be in place to then not disenfranchise people.”

While appointments for Pfizer jabs are in short supply there are plenty available for the AstraZeneca vaccine. But take-up of that vaccine has been slow after it was linked to rare blood clots, prompting ATAGI to recommend Pfizer for 16 to 60-year-olds.

Originally published as Moderna Covid-19 vaccine to roll out around September 20: Greg Hunt