COVID vaccine: 1.3 million Pfizer, AstraZeneca jabs now in Australia

Only 100,000 jabs of the COVID vaccine have been injected in Australia despite 1.3 million doses now being held in Australia.

More than 1.3 million doses of the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines are now in Australia, but only 100,000 have been given out so far as health officials declare the rollout is “not a race”.

With a new shipment of 149,000 Pfizer doses and 414,000 of AstraZeneca arriving from Europe in recent days, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has declared the country now has enough vaccine to “bridge” the rollout until domestically manufactured jabs are ready.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison visits the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) to see their AstraZeneca batch release. Picture: Adam Taylor

Australia holds more than 1.3 million doses of the AstraZeneca and Pfizer jabs. Picture: Adam Taylor

From next month CSL in Melbourne is expected to deliver one million doses a week.

“We took the decision to have sovereign capacity to produce the AstraZeneca vaccine here in Australia because we did not want to be relied on overseas supplies,” he said.

Mr Morrison said the government was moving as “quickly and as safely” as possible with the rollout, which surpassed the 100,000 vaccinations mark on Wednesday.

“I’m pleased to say that a quarter of those vaccines have been administered to the most vulnerable Australians aged care facilities and those with disabilities,” he said.

STATE SECRECY OVER UNUSED VACCINES

States and the federal government have agreed to share data on how many vaccines are administered into people’s arms, but have kept the public in the dark about the number of available doses going unused each week.

About 86,000 vaccines were administered nationally in the fortnight to March 7, which is only about half what was allocated to states, territories and the Commonwealth.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian blamed her interstate counterparts for the national cabinet decision to not disclose how many vaccine doses have gone unused.

Speaking ahead of getting her first jab of the AstraZeneca vaccine, Ms Berejiklian said NSW is “open and transparent” about how many people have received a shot.

The Premier receives the AstraZeneca vaccine at St George Hospital in Kogarah today. Picture: Getty

“NSW was not one of those states that objected to figures being provided,” she said.

The Premier said that as of Tuesday night, 27,000 people have been vaccinated as part of the NSW rollout.

The state has used 90 per cent of the Pfizer vaccine doses allocated by the federal government, based on an assumption of five doses per vial, she said.

Chief health officer Kerry Chant said we remain “on track” to administer 35,000 doses of Pfizer vaccine by the end of the week - a target set at the beginning of the rollout.

Meanwhile, NSW hospitals have begun to administer the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Ms Berejiklian, Dr Chant, and Health Minister Brad Hazzard were all set to receive their first dose on Thursday.

The Premier said people will soon be getting vaccinated at a rate of “one jab a minute” at each of the five hospitals so-far involved in the state’s vaccine rollout.

The Premier will receive the AstraZeneca vaccine despite federal leaders receiving Pfizer. Picture: NCA NewsWire / James Gourley

Dr Kerry Chant will also receive the injection in Kogarah. Picture: Christian Gilles / NCA NewsWire

Senior federal government sources told The Daily Telegraph states had “objected strongly” to the release of more transparent data.

As a result the second weekly update released by the federal Health Department did not include unused or wasted jabs from any jurisdiction, including the Commonwealth.

Mr Morrison said the data channels with states and territories would become “firmed up” as the rollout continued.

“We’re finalising the … common operating picture,” he said.

“We hope to add further to the granularity of (vaccine rollout) information as time goes on.”

Health Department secretary Professor Brendan Murphy said Australia had the luxury of “time” to set up the vaccine rollout “safely and carefully”.

“This is not a race,” he said.

The Pfizer jabs are currently being given to priority health and quarantine workers, and people in aged and disability care. Picture: Mike Burton

“We have no burning platform in Australia … we’re not like the US or the UK or most other countries in the world where they’ve got people in hospital dying.

“We can take our time to set up our systems”.

Asked why less than one in ten doses onshore in Australia had been administered, Prof Brendan Murphy argued at least half of the Pfizer jabs had been kept aside as second doses for patients.

The two Pfizer doses must be taken three weeks apart, but with global supply chain issues the government has isolated half of each incoming batch to ensure there was enough for people to receive the second jab if imports stall.

But even if half the Pfizer doses in Australia are reserved, there are still thousands available that have not been administered to people.

BEREJIKLIAN GETS ASTRAZENECA JAB

The NSW premier, health minister and chief health officer all received COVID-19 jabs today.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian, Health Minister Brad Hazzard and Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant were injected with the AstraZeneca vaccine at St George Hospital, Kogarah.