Scott Morrison forced to overrule Dan Tehan’s vaccination deadline comment

The Prime Minister has been forced to defend the slow vax rollout and to explain how he received the Pfizer jab at a private clinic which only offers AstraZeneca to the public.

A timeline to vaccinate all Australians against COVID-19 has been thrown overboard by the Prime Minister, who has also had to explain how he received the Pfizer vaccine at a private clinic which only offers AstraZeneca to the public.

Scott Morrison said there was now no timetable because of “many uncertainties involved” after a chaotic day when ministers appeared at odds on the vaccine rollout

On Sunday, Trade Minister Dan Tehan said that the government was now looking at the end of 2021 as a target for getting at least one jab into the arm of every adult Australian who wanted one.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Trade Minister Dan Tehan. Picture: Nicole Cleary

“That is definitely the aim, that is the goal we have set — trying to have all Australians have a dose by the end of the year,” Mr Tehan said.

However Health Minister Greg Hunt was forced to hose down the Trade Minister’s remarks as being too definitive, saying “there’s been no change … our goal is to ensure that every Australian is vaccinated as early as possible”.

The Prime Minister defended the rollout Sunday, and said that over 1.16 million doses of vaccine had been administered but he made a crucial statement about when all Australians could expect to be immunised, having initially set an October deadline.

“The Government has not set, nor has any plans to set any new targets for completing first doses. While we would like to see (first doses) completed before the end of the year it is not possible to set such targets given the many uncertainties involved,” he said, noting that

Australia’s vaccination program was proceeding well compared to many other nations.

Yet last August, Mr Morrison promised that “Australians will be among the first in the world to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.”

The stoush over timelines came as questions were raised about Mr Morrison’s getting the Pfizer jab on February 21 at the Castle Hill Medical Clinic, which is understood to normally administer only the AstraZeneca vaccine.

The AstraZeneca jab, which most Australians had been due to get, has been under a cloud ever since government advice against its use in people under 50 years old came down last week.

A spokesman for Mr Morrison told The Daily Telegraph that the Pfizer vaccines he and a number of elderly received were taken from existing stocks and administered at the medical clinic because COVID and flu vaccination requirements prevented them from being given the shot at a nursing home as originally planned.

Scott Morrison with Jane Malysiak 84, who was the first recipient of the COVID-19 vaccination at Castle Hill Medical Centre on February 21. Picture: Mark Evans/Getty

“The Prime Minister felt it was incredibly important to help boost public confidence in taking their COVID vaccination which is why he was one of the program’s first recipients with other people from the 1A cohort, and why just shortly after, Minister Hunt and the Secretary of the Health Department received AstraZeneca vaccinations,” the spokesman said.

By comparison, the Pfizer vaccine is far harder to obtain.

Meanwhile on Sunday the Commonwealth’s own Health Department website still optimistically indicated that Australians under 50, who are no longer recommended to get the AstraZeneca vaccine because of the risk of very rare blood clots, would get their jabs “around the middle of 2021”.

DOCTORS PLEAD TO BE ALLOWED TO MASS VACCINATE

Doctors are expected to be able to team up to run their own mass coronavirus vaccination clinics in community halls or sporting facilities in a bid to expand the rollout in coming weeks.

French Health Minister Olivier Veran at the opening day of a mass COVID-19 vaccination centre in eastern France. plans for similar centres could be on the cards in Australia. Pictures: Philippe Desmazes/AFP

The Daily Telegraph can reveal federal authorities are seriously considering the plan, which has been suggested by GPs who are frustrated their clinics are investing major resources in distributing the vaccine even though they are only receiving 50 doses a week.

By teaming up with other clinics they say they can vaccinate patients more efficiently at pop-up local hubs.

Federal Health Department bureaucrat Dr Lucas de Toca, who is leading the primary care response to COVID-19, told GPs last Thursday the idea was “definitely on the cards”.

This week the rollout is expected to reach its planned peak capacity, with an extra 1000 GP clinics coming online to ensure there are more than 5000 primary care distribution points nationwide.

Dr de Toca told GPs that while authorities were focused on ensuring the existing plan worked effectively, he acknowledged doctors were keen to explore new distribution models and said the government would “keep adjusting as we go”.

“That sort of combined model is something that will play a big role as we keep moving forward,” Dr de Toca said.

“I think there are plenty of opportunities to review the models, especially as we move into further phases where rapid access by large numbers of people will be important.

“At this stage, our focus is to make sure that the rollout works well, that we iron out the teething issues that we have encountered — the ordering, deliveries, distributions — and once we see how that is working, we can look into altering the model, the mix arrangements that people were talking about.”

By the end of this week 1000 GP clinics are due to be receiving 100 doses a week.

Originally published as Scott Morrison forced to overrule Dan Tehan’s vaccination deadline comment