NT using up 100 per cent of COVID-19 vaccine allocation Chief Minister Michael Gunner says
NOT a single COVID-19 vaccine dose has gone to waste in the NT the Chief Minister has said, amid questions surrounding a national cabinet decision to provide only weekly scant jab rollout data
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NOT a single COVID-19 vaccine dose has gone to waste in the Northern Territory the Chief Minister has said, amid questions surrounding a national cabinet decision to provide only weekly scant jab rollout data.
Chief Minister Michael Gunner said the NT was using up all the doses as shipments arrived, with NT Health confirming 2684 Territorians had received their first vaccine dose under the Territory-controlled side of the rollout as at the end of Tuesday.
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It comes as the commonwealth and state and territory governments face criticism over a decision, said to have been made during national cabinet, to not provide data on how many available vaccine doses were going unused each week.
Mr Gunner said national cabinet was presented with data, asked if they were comfortable with what would be released and the leaders agreed.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian blamed her interstate counterparts for the decision to not disclose how many vaccine doses have gone unused.
Meanwhile, it is anticipated the Territory’s first shipment of AstraZeneca vaccine could arrive on Friday.
The initial shipment of doses will be administered from the Commonwealth-controlled Palmerston Respiratory Clinic.
Mr Gunner said the shipment date had “moved a few times” but the Territory understood the “huge logistic” effort being undertaken to rollout the vaccine across the country.
He said his main area of concern was the “potential risk” of Territorians failing to get themselves sorted for their second dose of the vaccine.