Annastacia Palaszczuk wants reopening tied to vaccinations ‘offered’, not administered

Annastacia Palaszczuk has made a surprising statement about her goal for vaccinations before the country can reopen its borders.

Annastacia Palaszczuk says Australia’s international borders should reopen once everyone has been offered the vaccine, irrespective of actual vaccination rates.

The Queensland Premier’s comments on Friday echo those of Victorian Premier Dan Andrews yesterday but stand in stark contrast to NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, who earlier this week set a target of 80 per cent vaccination for her state to return to “Covid normal”.

“What we would like to see is every Australian who is eligible to be offered the vaccine,” Ms Palaszczuk told reporters.

“Once that happens, then I think that’s the critical criteria for the federal government to make a decision (on borders).”

She stressed that it was a federal government decision but “I think everyone would feel comfortable if they knew that every single person in their family had been offered the opportunity for a vaccine”.

“You think about it – if, for example, members of your family had not had that offer of the vaccine and the virus came in and they ended up on a ventilator, you wouldn’t forgive yourself,” she said.

“So I think every eligible Australian should have the opportunity to have been offered a vaccine. What we are going to see in some countries is that some countries will get their population vaccinated and then they will open up.”

On Thursday, Mr Andrews took a similar position, saying ending lockdowns should not be linked to vaccinations administered but rather vaccinations offered.

But Ms Berejiklian said earlier this week that residents of NSW could expect ongoing restrictions and lockdowns until the “vast majority” of the population was vaccinated.

“You need between 75 to 80 per cent of the population to be vaccinated before you can start having conversations about what Covid normal looks like – that is the target,” she said.

Annastacia Palaszczuk and Jeannette Young. Picture: Dan Peled/NCA NewsWire

Ms Palaszczuk’s comments came as she announced the state’s three-day lockdown would be extended for a further 24 hours for Brisbane and Moreton Bay, following the discovery of two new mystery cases.

The media conference was shorter than usual as the Premier was due to attend a national cabinet meeting, where issues including quarantine facilities for returned international travellers and vaccination were to be discussed.

The Queensland government has pointed the finger at the Commonwealth for instances of the virus escaping hotel quarantine.

Ms Palaszczuk has called for numbers of returning travellers to be reduced, and for dedicated regional quarantine facilities.

It was decidedly more subdued than Thursday’s chaotic press conference, where Ms Palaszczuk snapped at a “rude” Channel 7 reporter as she faced questions over her comments about the AstraZeneca vaccine the previous day.

The Premier and chief health officer Jeannette Young had been accused of spreading misinformation and putting the country’s already shambolic vaccine rollout in jeopardy, after forcefully warning young Queenslanders to ignore Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s announcement that under-40s could get the AstraZeneca jab.

It’s common sense.

We need to lower the number of international arrivals.

We need dedicated regional quarantine facilities. pic.twitter.com/5IWOKfwVpI

— Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) July 1, 2021

Ms Palaszczuk slammed the PM on Wednesday, saying national cabinet had made no such decision. She said the expert advice had not changed and that AstraZeneca was only recommended for over-60s due to the risk of blood clots.

Dr Young said she didn’t want a young person to die from the vaccine when they were at little risk from Covid-19.

“I don’t want an 18-year-old in Queensland dying from a clotting illness who, if they got Covid, probably wouldn’t die,” she said on Wednesday.

“We’ve had very few deaths due to Covid-19 in Australia in people under the age of 50, and wouldn’t it be terrible that our first 18-year-old in Queensland who dies related to this pandemic died because of the vaccine?”

On Thursday, both Ms Palaszczuk and Dr Young were at pains to support vaccination, but did not back down from their stance on AstraZeneca.

“We are pro-vaccination,” Ms Palaszczuk said.

“Let me say this very clearly – in the next three months, and I have always said this, we have been advised that there is going to be plentiful supply of Pfizer and Moderna for the majority of the population to get vaccinated.”

Dr Young said she did not regret her comments about the hypothetical 18-year-old dying.

“No, that is the truth, that there is a risk that you can die from one of those rare, and they are rare blood clots, and the younger you are the more likely it is that it will happen,” she replied.

“I am giving my advice. I am a doctor. I’ve been involved in Australia’s vaccination program now for 16 years. But I want the right vaccine to go to the right person.”