Elderly Australians and those at risk of serious illness to be front of vaccine line

Australia has revealed its early plans for the highly anticipated coronavirus vaccine rollout, identifying the groups who will be front of line for a jab.

Elderly Australians and those at risk of serious illness will among the first to get a coronavirus vaccine from March next year, Australia’s chief medical officer has revealed.

The new details come as concerns are raised about Australia’s biggest employers forcing their workers to get a jab or risk losing their job.

Under the government’s blueprint, the first group to be prioritised for the vaccine will be people at risk of serious illness and those with chronic diseases.

Acting chief medical officer Professor Paul Kelly said people on the frontline such as health and aged care workers would be second.

“The third priority will be essential workers that are needed to keep our society going,” Professor Kelly said, adding international airline crew would also be up the top of the list.

“Our aim for 2021 is to have anyone in Australia who wants to get this vaccine, vaccinated, and so yes there will be a queue.”

Australia has three supply deals with potential coronavirus vaccine makers.

A group of medical experts are due to provide final recommendations to the government in late January ahead of the rollout scheduled for March.

“We’ll start that process in March but after that we will get more and more supply and we’ll be able to roll out more broadly,” Professor Kelly said.

He said almost all of the more than 200 vaccines being developed globally required a booster about three weeks after the first dose.

Scott Morrison said details of the vaccine rollout were still being worked on for the states and territories. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

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Scott Morrison told The Morning Show on Wednesday that the vaccine rollout strategy was yet to be finalised.

“Obviously health workers and those in those critical occupations are at the front of the queue just like we have already seen in the United Kingdom and US,” the prime minister said.

But questions are also being raised about whether employers could make a coronavirus vaccine compulsory for some Australian workers.

National Party Senator Matt Canavan said he would not support giving bosses that level of authority.

“We have to be careful putting employers in a position where they judge people’s medical requirements,” Senator Canavan told Today.

“There are some people … like pregnant women, or women who may want to get pregnant, who may not be in the right category to get the vaccine.

“I prefer a health authority to be taking those decisions.”

Senator Canavan said the government wanted everybody to get the vaccine but we was confident that the vast majority of Australians would do so voluntarily.

Mr Morrison said Australia had one of the highest vaccination rates in the world because people were confident that the system would protect their health.

Asked if Australia will still let people who have not been vaccinated in from overseas, Mr Morrison said that will be a position for the airlines.

“That has been the subject of discussion I have had with global leaders in recent weeks,” he said.

“The reason we have done so well is we have been so careful around our borders and so we will work through those issues.”

Mr Morrison said he hoped international travel would resume next year but said it would not happen in the first quarter of 2021.