Calls to cut Pfizer dose gap on race to 80 per cent

The million extra Pfizer doses available in state-run vaccination centres from next month could see dose gaps slashed and speed up Victoria’s path to freedom.

The Andrews Government is under pressure to cut the gap between first and second doses of Pfizer and speed up the path to freedom after a one million dose boost.

The Saturday Herald Sun can confirm 970,000 Pfizer doses will be available in state-run vaccination centres next month – allowing the gap between first and second vaccinations to be cut from six weeks to 30 days.

The Federal Government estimates the move will bring forward the state’s target of 80 per cent of people fully vaccinated to October 29, seven days ahead of the road map target of November 5.

On Friday night Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt said the state could have everyone double-dosed by the end of next month.

There have been long lines of people at the Melbourne Convention Centre and other state-run vaccination hubs.

“There will be sufficient vaccine in Victoria between now and the end of October to ensure that everyone who seeks it to have two doses,” he said.

The revelation is some welcome good news after the state government on Friday said Victorians would not be getting an easing of restrictions on Sunday after failing to hit the 80 per cent first dose target as expected.

The new Pfizer doses will also quash concerns expressed by Premier Daniel Andrews that there was not enough Pfizer to cut the gap between doses, to speed up the roll out.

On Thursday Mr Andrews said it was not possible to cut the time between Pfizer doses from the current interval of six weeks because the state was being forced to ration the vaccine.

“That is not an option to us at the moment,” he said.

Victoria is expected to hit the 80 per cent fully vaccinated mark on November 5 – but that could be sooner under a change to the Pfizer rollout. Picture: David Caird

“I would love to be able to bring the dose interval down … but that’s not an option that’s available to us to the moment, I simply do not have the stock in the fridge or freezer, to be able to bring that dose level forward.

“It’s not on the table, it is not an option.”

On Friday vaccine rollout chief Lieutenant General John Frewen said Pfizer had confirmed Australia would receive 9 million doses in October, and then another 9 million in both November and December.

He said that last week Pfizer had only provided its expected allocation for the first half of October because of “global distribution management issues”.

Victoria is expected to hit its 80 per cent fully vaccinated target on November 5 – but that could be sooner under a change to the Pfizer rollout. Picture: David Caird

Speaking on Friday, General Frewen said the company had now locked in deliveries of Australia’s “full quota” for next month, and that these doses would be allocated “per capita as we always do”.

He said the country would receive “half of what we were anticipating in the first two weeks”, but that this would be made up for with larger deliveries in the second half of October.

General Frewen said an extra 32,000 Moderna doses to be sent to Victoria’s state hubs next week were freed up as a result of under-ordering in other parts of the country.

Earlier this week Mr Andrews said authorities were encouraging an increased uptake of AstraZeneca while rationing Pfizer vaccines.

“I have to ration Pfizer because I don’t have enough, I do not have enough, nowhere near enough, to be able to change the dosing interval of Pfizer,” he said.

“I can’t just dream it up. You might get told something different out of the Commonwealth but I’m telling you, we don’t have it in the fridge or the freezer. We don’t have it.

“Even if I got advice from the experts to reduce the dose interval, I don’t have the stock.”