Key vax target to ‘start saying goodbye’ to lockdowns

The Prime Minister has stressed the need to reach this key vaccination target to ‘start saying goodbye’ to lockdowns.

The Prime Minister has stressed the need to reach the “magic number” of 70 per cent of Australians vaccinated to bring an end to the fluctuating lockdowns that continue across the country.

“We start saying goodbye to (lockdowns) at 70 per cent, and they become basically pretty much a thing of the past when we hit 80 per cent,” Mr Morrison told 4BC on Monday.

After national cabinet on Friday, Mr Morrison announced Australia would move into “phase B” once 70 per cent of the population was vaccinated.

Under phase B, Australia would transition away from lockdowns, and restrictions would ease significantly for vaccinated people.

“If you get vaccinated, there will be special rules that apply to you (under phase B),” Mr Morrison said.

Head of Australia’s Covid-19 response, Lieutenant General John Frewen, echoed Mr Morrison, stressing the importance of the 70 per cent vax target to Sky News on Monday.

“It is good to have those sorts of parameters now to work to. We will work hard to try and get Australians to turn up and get it done,” General Frewen said.

Lieutenant General John Frewen said as long as Australians continue to get vaccinated, the 70 per cent target should be reached by the end of the year. Picture: Gary Ramage / NCA NewsWire

When asked whether 70 per cent was the “magic number” to end lockdowns, General Frewen replied with an affirming “yeah”.

“That 70 per cent number, as long as Australians keep turning up (to get vaccinated), we will have the supply and distribution nodes to get there towards the end of the year.”

And the Covid chief was not alone in his optimism regarding the end-of-year target.

Speaking to ABC radio on Monday, AstraZeneca Australia president Liz Chatwin emphasised the AstraZeneca vaccine’s effectiveness against Delta.

“None of the variants so far that have emerged have significantly undermined the efficacy of our vaccine,” she said.

“(AstraZeneca) is 92 per cent effective at preventing hospitalisation, even with the Delta variant.”

Ms Chatwin stressed that the risk of getting a blood clot from AstraZeneca was extremely low.

“There‘s a 99.99 per cent chance that nothing will happen to you,” she said.

Mr Morrison shared similar optimism, highlighting July was a record month for Australia with 4.5 million vaccines administered.

“We had those early problems but we’ve got on top of them, we’ve turned it around,” he said.

“We’ve got a gold medal run till the end of the year to get this done.”

Prime Minister Scott Morrison is optimistic the 70 per cent target can be reached by the end of the year. Picture: David Caird-Pool/Getty Images

However, not everyone is guaranteed to be included in the 70 per cent target.

General Frewen made it clear that Australians under 16 were still ineligible to get the jab.

“For 12 to 15-year-olds, that is still being considered by ATAGI,” he said.

“We‘re watching those deliberations closely.”

On Sunday, the NSW Ministry of Health put young residents on notice as the group who was driving the state’s Covid-19 outbreak due to them working more and having larger social networks.

“Of the 55 in ICU, seven are in their 20s, five are in their 30s,” NSW public health official Jeremy McAnulty said.

“It shows that the disease can be very serious in younger people as well as older people.”

The NSW Ministry of Health has put young residents on notice as the group who is driving the state’s Covid-19 outbreak. Picture: James Tye / University College London / AFP

Approximately 19 per cent of the eligible Australian population is fully vaccinated.

If the eligible population is extended to include those under 16, the 70 per cent target is likely to become harder to reach.

In an opinion piece in The Australian on Monday, Mr Morrison conceded he wished the vaccine target was lower than 70 per cent.

“I wish it were lower but it’s not,” Mr Morrison said.

“The science of Covid-19 writes these rules, not us.

“We just have to adjust and beat it.”

Both Mr Morrison and General Frewen stressed it was up to Australians to help reach the 70 per cent goal by the end of the year by going out to get their jab.