Thanks so much for joining us today as we reported on the unfolding vaccine situation in Australia, after experts decided under-50s would not be given the AstraZeneca jab due to a possible link with rare blood clots.
Here’s a recap of the major stories of the day:
- Australia has secured 20 million more doses of the Pfizer vaccine, doubling the number the nation will buy, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced. He said vaccine rollout would continue to focus on phases 1A and 1B and the government was hoping to continue at the pace already set out.
- From April 19, Australians could fly to New Zealand and then on to a third country without requiring permission from the Australian government.
Dozens of people under 50, including healthcare workers, were refused entry to Victorian mass vaccination centres after the government changed its vaccination policy following concerns about blood clots associated with the AstraZeneca vaccine.
- NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian says her government will forge ahead with plans for a mass-vaccination hub despite a huge overhaul to the country’s vaccine rollout.
- West Australians under the age of 50 who had been booked in to get the AstraZeneca vaccine were told not to show up to their appointments in light of revised health advice.
- Queensland will continue to administer AstraZeneca as it waits for a greater and more consistent supply of Pfizer.
- Biotech giant CSL’s finances won’t be impacted by the shock overhaul of the federal government’s COVID-19 vaccine strategy but the company cannot shift its focus from making AstraZeneca doses to alternatives such as Novavax.
- A man, aged in his 40s, with COVID-19 remains in a critical condition in the intensive care unit of Royal Adelaide Hospital.
Thank you again for reading the blog, have a wonderful weekend.