Anthony Albanese ‘fuelling vaccine concerns’, says Greg Hunt

Anthony Albanese accused of undermining confidence in a Covid-19 vaccine by pushing for an accelerated rollout.

Anthony Albanese. Picture: Sam Mooy

Health Minister Greg Hunt has accused Anthony Albanese of undermining confidence in a COVID-19 vaccine by pushing for an accelerated rollout, warning that a larger take-up would be put at risk by public perceptions the process was being rushed.

Mr Hunt’s view was informed by government-commissioned research obtained by The Australian indicating that 80 per cent of Australians were likely to take up COVID-19 vaccinations despite a quarter of the population holding concerns about safety, long-term side effects and the swift speed of the rollout.

The Opposition Leader on Wednesday said Scott Morrison should accelerate COVID-19 vaccinations with a January rollout following approval from the Therapeutic Goods Administration, warning that the government’s March timeframe “fails the commonsense test”.

“They should be saying, ‘Hang on, if we have approved it, we need to get the vaccine sooner and we should also be upping the amount that we get’. We were behind the rest of the world in terms of signing up to these deals that have been put in place,” Mr Albanese told 2SM.

Labor health spokesman Chris Bowen also told The Australian that Mr Hunt needed to explain “the gap between expected vaccine approval by the TGA in January and start of rollout in March”.

Mr Hunt said that the “single greatest risk to the vaccine program is any concern that the vaccines have been rushed for political reasons — yet that is exactly the deeply concerning and irresponsible path Mr Albanese has chosen”.

The government’s market research showed that “a quarter of Australians are worried about the safety of the vaccine, largely stemming from a concern around how quickly it is being ­developed”.

The results suggested 23 per cent of Australians were concerned about long-term side effects; 22 per cent were concerned too little was known about the vaccines; 18 per cent were concerned there was inadequate testing and research; and a further 17 per cent were concerned that the process felt rushed.

Concerns about the safety of the vaccine were also much higher in females aged 30-39, at 42 per cent, while 4 per cent said they wouldn’t take the vaccine because they were anti-vaxxers.

Despite a large number of worries, the research still showed that 80 per cent of Australians would be “somewhat (or very) likely to take up a government-approved vaccine for COVID-19 if it became available right now at no cost to them”, with support highest among the 60 years and above age bracket.

The research is informing the government’s approach to the rollout, with Mr Hunt saying Australians were world leaders in vaccinating but wanted to “ensure that safety, delivery and proper assessment is not compromised and is subject to the most rigorous medical standards”.

Mr Hunt also said other nations had “only made COVID-19 vaccines available in very limited and temporary emergency circumstances under ‘emergency use authorisations’ based on the potential risks, benefits and uncertainties of the vaccine in the context of the prevailing COVID-19 situation in those countries”.

“Temporary emergency authorisations are different to regulatory approval pathways, such as the provisional registration pathway being used in Australia, which will enable broader marketing authorisation and access.

“Use of the provisional pathway remains appropriate in the Australian context,” Mr Hunt said.