Covid-19 vaccine ramp-up as GPs slam rollout

Australia’s onshore vaccine production could reach a million doses a week as early as next week as the government fends off increasing frustration from doctors unable to obtain large numbers of shots.

Australia’s onshore vaccine production could reach a million doses a week as early as next week as the federal government fends off increasing frustration from doctors unable to obtain large numbers of shots.

Under pressure over Australia’s slow vaccine rollout, the federal government released details of the number of vaccines it had received from Europe and locally as frustrated GPs said they had the capacity to administer many more doses.

Health Minister Greg Hunt said CSL would supply 1,620,000 doses of locally manufactured vaccine within eight days as the government sought to hose down a spat with the EU over vaccine supply. CSL has already supplied 1.3 million doses of local vaccine. Pfizer has supplied 870,000 doses of its vaccine from Europe, but Australia has received only 700,000 of the 3.8 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine that were to have been shipped from Belgium in February and March.

Australia has now recorded a total of 920,000 vaccinations.

The number of GPs administering vaccine is doubling to 3000 this week but practices have not been advised that they are to receive greater numbers of doses despite the CSL local production being cleared for release.

“There is additional capacity in general practice, and many GPs are growing increasingly frustrated that they are not receiving more doses,” said Royal Australian College of General Practitioners president Karen Price. “I am listening carefully to the concerns of GPs who say they simply do not have enough stock.

“It is vital that general practice is given the support and resources necessary to get on with the job of vaccinating our most vulnerable populations in phase 1b.”

Dr Price said of the 1500 extra GP surgeries that will begin delivering vaccines as of this week, most have been told they will receive only 50 doses a week. “While processes may not be moving as quickly as we would have hoped, it is anticipated production will ramp up soon and that will make an enormous difference,” Dr Price said.

Scott Morrison on Wednesday denied criticising the EU over the shortfall in Australia’s vaccine supply, declaring it was a “simple fact” that 3.1 million of the 3.8 million doses Australia had ordered did not arrive as planned. “Any suggestion that I, in any way, made any criticism of the EU yesterday would be completely incorrect,” the Prime Minister said.

It comes as a war of words erupted overnight on Tuesday after the commission — the EU’s executive branch — rejected claims it had blocked millions of Astra­Zeneca doses from being sent to Australia, arguing it had rejected just one out of 491 vaccine export requests.

Mr Morrison on Wednesday insisted it was those delays that had impacted the speed of the ­nation’s vaccine rollout, running millions of doses behind schedule.

The European Commission formally blocked a shipment of 250,000 doses to Australia in early March after it was given sweeping new powers to ban exports to other countries, especially wealthy nations. It said the export of 3.1 million doses had stalled only because AstraZeneca had not resought approval over fears export applications would be knocked back.

Mr Morrison on Wednesday said he would encourage the EU to grant export licenses for those doses as it would also assist with the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Papua New Guinea.

Last month, he asked Euro­pean leaders to redirect one million doses under Australia’s vaccination order to PNG to assist with their health crisis.

Labor leader Anthony Albanese seized on Canberra’s stoush with the EU on Wednesday to accuse the Morrison government of failing on the rollout.