Will Morrison and vaccination rollout be to blame for latest Victorian Covid outbreak?

A resident of Arcare Maidstone Aged Care, which is now in lockdown, with a second staff member at the facility testing positive for coronavirus. Picture: David Crosling

A year ago the Morrison Government effectively dodged a political bullet after the Covid-19 outbreak in the Victorian aged care system cost more than 800 lives.

Despite strenuous Labor attempts to blame Scott Morrison for the fatal failure in the Victorian aged care system the responsibility came to rest with Daniel Andrews’ state Labor government because of the disastrous, and still not fully explained, failure of quarantine in Melbourne.

But the latest outbreak in suburban Melbourne Maidstone, while still thankfully small, has the potential to pose a much greater political threat to the federal Coalition because it involves the vaccination rollout.

The current circumstances are much different. At the beginning of last year’s deadly outbreak there was no vaccine, there was no complacency and the only containment strategy relied on quarantine and contact tracing.

The Victorian state government’s obvious failure on containment ensured the blame was rightfully laid on Andrews.

The Covid-19 outbreak in the Victorian aged care system, which cost more than 800 lives, was blamed on the Andrews’ government’s failure on quarantine. Picture: Getty

But now the rate of the vaccine rollout, it’s efficacy and the health message about continued risks after vaccination have the potential to draw the federal government into political blame even if the Victorian contact tracing still seems hampered by technical faults.

The key differences here are that an aged care facility, doing its job and vaccinating both staff and residents, has had a staff member test positive after vaccination – one shot of Pfizer – and subsequent infections of another worker, who wasn’t vaccinated at all, and a resident.

Medical waste is removed from the Arcare Maidstone Aged Care facility. Picture: David Crosling

All only have mild symptoms so far but this outbreak raises the issues of the rate of the vaccine rollout to vulnerable communities and frontline workers, as well as, post-vaccination complacency which demonstrates a fundamental lack of understanding of what vaccination means and the potential to reappraise infection periods, contact tracing, lockdowns and international border closures.

Vaccination, especially just one jab, does not stop people from getting coronavirus or spreading it. To be fair Greg Hunt as Health Minister has always said it is designed to stop deaths, severe infection and hospitalisation and does not provide immunity or stop transmission.

A worker at the Arcare aged care Maidstone residence, who received one dose of Pfizer vaccine on May 12, tested positive to Covid-19. Picture: Getty

As Victorians struggle under yet another outbreak, a new lockdown and another national record for infections there is more room than last year to apportion blame for a lack of understanding about the vaccinations and a slow rollout.

If the federal government’s cautious approach to reopening the international border is because of the potential for what is happening in Victoria happening on a wider scale then the people need to know.

The vaccine rollout, it’s efficacy and the health message about continued risks after vaccination have the potential to draw the federal government into political blame. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

As Labor frontbencher Bill Shorten, who is the local MP for the affected aged care centre, told the Australian online: “This is a wake up call. People should go out and get vaccinated and not be complacent.”

He also makes the political point that: “The Morrison Government has been negligent”.

This outbreak is much smaller and so far less serious than last year’s disaster but there are real implications for vaccinations, border closures and economic lockdowns which the Morrison Government will find harder to avoid.