Backlash after Morrison Government ministers insist vaccine rollout is ‘not a race’

An attempt to defend the slow rollout of the Covid-19 vaccine as “not a race” hasn’t gone down well for the Federal Government.

Criticism of the Australian government over the slow rollout of the Covid-19 vaccine has ramped up as demand for doses skyrocket amid Victoria’s outbreak.

An attempt by Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack to defend the slow rollout has left many Aussies less than impressed after he echoed claims from the PM that it was “not a race”.

“It is not a race, it has to be systematic,” he told Sky News on Sunday.

“It has to be rolled out in a way that Australians obviously need to know that they have to get the jab but we can’t have everybody going and getting it at the same time.

“But we can’t have everybody going and getting it at the same time, and that’s why there has been a phased-in system, you know, and there has been a bit of complacency.”

There are concerns a new Covid-19 variant, which was first detected in India, is extremely transmissible and masks may not be enough to halt the spread.

Many believe that Australia cannot afford to be complacent, and the Victorian outbreak is a stark reminder of this.

“Those claiming the vaccination program is ‘not a race’ fail to understand the urgency of beating the virus,” Nick Talley, editor-in-chief of the Medical Journal of Australia, wrote in an opinion piece for the Sydney Morning Herald, along with Masks4All co-founder Jeremy Howard.

“Apathy can kill Australians and jobs.”

They point to Taiwan as an example of a country that had covid under control, but is now losing the battle.

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Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack in Parliament House in Canberra. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Gary Ramage

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So far more than 4.2 million vaccine doses have been administered across the country. Frustrations around the pace of the rollout ramped up last week when it was revealed nearly 30 aged care homes in Victoria were yet to receive their first doses of any Covid-19 vaccine despite assurances from the Morrison government the most vulnerable would be given priority.

Trade Minister Dan Tehan also rushed to the government’s defence, telling ABC’s Insiders it wasn’t correct to describe the vaccine rollout as a race.

“You don’t describe the vaccine rollout as a race. The Melbourne Cup’s a race, the Stawell Gift’s a race, what we’re trying to do is make sure we get as many people vaccinated as quickly as we possibly can,” he said.

Many people were less than impressed with where Australia is sitting with the rollout, with Twitter users using the hashtag #VaccineStrollout to express their frustrations.

Hell yes @KarenMMiddleton! Yes. The vaccine rollout is a race. Not a race against other nations but a race against a virus that is highly infectious and mutating. #auspol#VaccineStrollout#VicLockdown

— Jamila Rizvi (@JamilaRizvi) May 29, 2021

You know who started describing it as a race Dan? Your boss ScoMo #itsnotarace@InsidersABC#insiders#auspol#VaccineStrollout

— Pancakes & Coffee 🥞☕️ (@gigglemcgiggle) May 29, 2021

It’s only a race when you’re winning right? #insiders#VaccineStrollout

— bradchilcott (@bradchilcott) May 29, 2021

Acting Victorian Premier James Merlino has been particularly critical of the government over the vaccine rollout, while also suggesting it had failed to address problems in the hotel quarantine system.

“The vaccine rollout has been slower than we have hoped. “It’s not where we hoped it would be, it’s not where it should be,” he told reporters.

“If more people were vaccinated, we might be facing a very different set of circumstances than we are today. But sadly we are not.”

Mr Merlino also responded to the continual claims from the Federal Government that the rollout is not a race.

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Speaking during Sunday’s press conference, Mr Merlino said the path out of continual restrictions and lockdowns was vaccination.

“The sooner we get vaccinated, the sooner that we can ease all of our restrictions,” he said.

Mr Merlino said Victoria was currently vaccinating as fast as it could, adding it could be doing more if it had more supplies.

“We could do more but you have got to have some long-term confidence in the supply of the vaccine,” he said.

“Now, the vaccine program has been delayed. That is a fact. We could do more. That is a fact. We would be in a very different world if we had large numbers of vaccinations across our country and alternative quarantine hubs.”

People line up outside the Melbourne Exhibition Centre COVID-19 Vaccination Centre. Picture: Darrian Traynor/Getty Images

The acting premier even suggested the reason the state had to go into lockdown was because not enough people had received the vaccine.

“We need to have a seven-day lockdown based on the advice of our public health team because we don’t have the levels of vaccinations around our state and our country. That is the reality,” Mr Merlino said.

Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese has also criticised Prime Minister Scott Morrison over the vaccine rollout, insisting the latest outbreak was “particularly tough because this could have been avoided”.

“The Morrison government has to accept its responsibilities to lead rather than to always be looking to not take up what is its job to do — effective quarantine, and effective rollout of the vaccine,” he said.