COVID-19 vaccines for four million by mid-April

The federal government is aiming to vaccinate four million Australians by mid-April, as health authorities begin to ramp up one of our largest logistic challenges.

Health Department secretary Brendan Murphy has told a parliamentary inquiry he expected millions of doses to be distributed within weeks. Picture: Getty Images

The federal government is aiming to vaccinate four million Australians by mid-April, as health authorities begin to ramp up one of the largest logistical challenges in the nation’s history.

With the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine close to receiving regulatory approval, and vaccinations likely to begin in late-February, Health secretary Brendan Murphy told a parliamentary inquiry he expected millions of doses to be distributed within weeks.

But with concerns about supplies, the government said it had a “low tolerance” for wastage, warning any clinics found to have an “unacceptable” wastage rate could lose their position as a government-sponsored vaccination centre.

With the first phase of the vaccination road map beginning with 1.4 million doses for priority groups, the “aspirational target” of four million would likely see hundreds of thousands of jabs ­delivered each week, ensuring the nation’s most vulnerable and frontline workers are protected.

The vaccination regime will take place at 2000 sites across the country. With close to a million flu vaccinations undertaken a week last year, and with more vaccination sites available, it is understood that the government is confident any constraints will be supply-based, rather than ­relate to distribution.

A House of Representatives committee used a public hearing on Friday to question the nation’s leading health experts on the ­development, approval and distribution processes for the COVID-19 vaccines.

Therapeutic Goods ­Admin­istration deputy secretary John Skerritt defended the delay in approving the vaccine, telling the committee it was actually an ­advantage, enabling it to assess serious but rare adverse affects which appeared between four to eight weeks after the vaccination.

Despite assurances the vaccination road map would mean Australia’s most vulnerable were protected within months, Professor Murphy was unwilling to commit to a faster easing of ­restrictions. However, he hoped the closure of state borders would be a “thing of the past soon”, while offering hope of a limited form of international travel.

“I think from the second half of this year, as we get more data from overseas … we would start looking at whether we could start making border restrictions less onerous, and start opening up to green zones,” he said.

Professor Murphy also dispelled concerns about the AstraZeneca vaccine, which several countries said they wouldn’t distribute to those people over 65, citing a lack of data on its efficacy, but said the final decision would hinge on US trial results expected in mid-March or early April.

“There is no evidence that the AstraZeneca vaccine is not effective for older people,” he said. “It’s simply that there is a paucity of trial data. (But) there’s quite good laboratory data suggesting it produces a good immune response.”

The inquiry also heard the TGA was in dialogue with other regulators tracking conspiracy theories across the globe that may cause issues with vaccination.

On Thursday, the government confirmed it had triggered an ­option in its deal with Pfizer to ­secure an extra 10 million doses of the vaccine, doubling the amount available from the company. In addition to the 20 million Pfizer doses, AstraZeneca will supply 53.8 million doses, 50 million of which will be manufactured by CSL in Melbourne. The government will also buy 51 million doses of the Novavax vaccine.