PM must seize control of rollout

Scott Morrison’s main task at Friday’s national cabinet meeting must be to seize back control of the nation’s fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. The Prime Minister is going into the meeting with the aim of securing a new deal with the premiers and to reach agreement on a vaccine number needed to stop future lockdowns. It is a vital goal in the national interest, especially on a day when 12 million Australians in NSW, Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory are locked down, and school holiday plans and the tourism and hospitality sectors are in chaos.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews is right when he says there should be no more lockdowns once every eligible person has been offered a vaccine. After a week of petty politicking, especially by Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and her governor-to-be, chief health officer Jeannette Young, Australians are looking for leadership and a clear message from Mr Morrison. Bickering and swiping at the federal government will be par for the course until the election. But Mr Morrison’s focus should be on more important challenges. He needs to design a clear pathway out of the imbroglio as quickly and as effectively as possible by speeding up the vaccine rollout. Australians know he can do it. At the height of the Covid emergency in the early months of last year, 85 per cent of Newspoll respondents said he was handling coronavirus well. That approval has fallen but remains positive – 61 per cent in the latest Newspoll last weekend.

Australians are looking to Mr Morrison for leadership on vaccines. And he has a good springboard for Friday’s meeting, the second this week. Wednesday was a record-breaking day for the national vaccine rollout, with 161,390 doses administered. Almost 8 per cent of eligible Australians are now fully vaccinated with two jabs. By the weekend, close to eight million people will have had their first jab. Dr Young’s strident, alarmist claims on Wednesday and Thursday about the AstraZeneca vaccine are manna from heaven for anti-vaxxers. But to the credit of young Australians, more than 2600 people aged under 40 have flocked to be immunised with AstraZeneca since Mr Morrison reminded them they could consult their doctor to weigh up the risks and benefits of being vaccinated now instead of waiting months for a Pfizer shot.

Mr Morrison’s plan for a broader and faster rollout will be boosted by the nationwide Covid-19 pharmacy vaccination program, which started with 49 pharmacies in regional Queensland on June 7 and will expand to cover 207 sites in all states and territories except Tasmania and the ACT. The program should be expanded further and a firm timetable announced. Figures obtained by The Australian show only 20 chemists will be part of the expanded pharmacy program in NSW from July 19, when more than 1250 were approved by the commonwealth. Victoria will activate six pharmacies out of 511 that were approved.

Mr Morrison and his team also should work with business leaders who have offered workplaces as vaccination centres, which happens during flu season. As Australian Industry Group chief executive Innes Willox says, the vaccination effort would be accelerated if the government extended the offer of indemnity from GPs to businesses. During Friday’s meeting, Mr Morrison will consider state leaders’ requests for a 75 or 80 per cent cut in our already severely limited international arrivals until most Australians are vaccinated. But looking inward as much of the world is reopening is not the main issue. The focus must be on vaccines. The government must not let itself be distracted. Mr Morrison stepping up will restore confidence.