Australia urges US to send 26 million vaccine doses as pandemic spirals out of control

Scott Morrison has spent weeks urging the US to send us a vaccination care package, but requests have so far fallen on deaf ears.

Scott Morrison has reportedly pleaded with the Biden administration to send up to 26 million unused vaccine doses Down Under as the nation’s Delta strain crisis spirals out of control.

New cases in Queensland and Victoria this week have sent the country’s three biggest cities and surrounding regional areas into a lockdown encompassing almost half of the population.

The Greater Sydney region has been under restrictions for seven weeks, with epidemiologist Tony Blakely yesterday warning the metropolitan area should expect to remain in lockdown for at least another two months.

The current deadline sits at the end of August, but with the state recording a 2021 high of 291 cases on Friday despite millions remaining at home, contact tracers fear the Delta strain has become uncontrollable.

Federal and state governments have continued their push to vaccinate every Australian, declaring the rollout the only way the nation can “return to normal”. Vaccination rates have continued to rise as the grim reality of the Delta strain’s potency sets in. A man in his 20s died this week after contracting the highly transmissible strain, quashing previous notions the coronavirus was only deadly for those over 50.

The Weekend Australian’s Sharri Markson reported the Australian government has “made representations” with the US for several weeks urging the superpower to send more Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines. Scott Morrison’s requests have so far been unsuccessful.

Senior Republican on the House foreign affairs committee Michael McCaul has backed calls for the US to send vaccine care packages across the globe with the nation at risk of letting millions of jabs go to waste in storage.

Mr McCaul referred to Australia as “not only an ally but a Five Eyes ally”, insisting it be prioritised by the US Government for excess vaccines.

“I’ve been pressuring this ­administration through the COVAX program to give more of these ­vaccines that are just sitting in warehouses in the US,” he said. “They will expire if we don’t get them out the door.”

Medical publication Stat confirmed “a significant tranche of Pfizer doses is expected to expire in August”, with the head of the Arkansas vaccine rollout Robert Ator revealing “we’re drowning in this stuff”.

According to Finance Minister Simon Birmingham, Australia is currently receiving 1 million doses of Pfizer with vaccination rates increasing rapidly. However, the demand for more Pfizer vials is outweighing the supply, with hesitation over the AstraZeneca vaccine still rife after a seventh blood clotting death this week.

“We’re trying to get every dose available that we can into Australia, of Pfizer, we make sure that we also have the Modena coming on line … there’ll be further increases in that, particularly as we head towards September and October,” he said via Sky News.

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The vaccine rollout has been plagued by issues. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

Australia’s stuttering vaccine rollout has been mocked by overseas commentators wondering how a “rich” country is still experiencing shortages compared to more heavily populated nations like the UK and US.

With US negotiations still “up in the ether”, it remains to be seen if the Morrison government can carry through its request. A number of potential issues stand in the way of the Biden administration sending a helping hand. One source suggested the US may be keeping its excess vaccine supplies on hand in case a particularly sudden rise in Delta strain cases erupt.

The US government has also committed to a plan to deliver 500 million Pfizer doses to developing nations after inking a AU$4.7bn deal with the pharmaceutical giant.

The issue surrounding superpowers “stepping in” to aid poorer countries in the global vaccination push has remained a hot topic. Mr McCaul criticised China’s use of “vaccine diplomacy” with smaller nations in need of doses.

According to Radio Free Europe, the Ukrainian government this week agreed to remove its name from statements condemning human rights abuses in order to secure a shipment of over 500,000 jabs.

America has pledged to provide hundreds of millions of vaccine doses to the world - but they’re meant to go to developing nations. Picture: AFP

China this week pledged to ship 2 billion doses across the globe this year, expanding its position as the world’s leading vaccine supplier. The CCP has already sent 770 million doses since September last year.

“I think particularly a Five Eyes ally should get the vaccines … and then we need to get it to countries like Sri Lanka, to African nations and Latin America where we know the Chinese are playing a pretty big game of vaccine diplomacy, to vaccinate people against the very virus that they created,” McCaul continued, worrying for nations “falling prey to the CPP”.

“I’m afraid the US may think it’s mission accomplished, we’ve covered the US but I think we have a moral ­responsibility having developed this to get it to our allies and to these developing nations that are falling prey to the CCP.

“Get the vaccines to our allies, get the vaccines to nations where the Chinese are coming in with their vaccine and they want ­access to the ports, military bases … I believe we’re losing in that diplomacy game right now.”