Criticism of Scott Morrison on vaccines borders on the hysterical

Countries that have much higher rates of vaccinations than Australia are in that position because of the rampant rate of infections.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Picture: Getty

Wise words this morning on ABC radio from the director of the US National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Anthony Fauci. Asked about criticisms being levelled at the Australian government for its vaccine rollout, he made the sobering point that people shouldn’t be too harsh. Australia, he said, is uniquely well placed compared to other nations that have struggled to contain the coronavirus, and it’s to be expected that there are teething problems in the early days of the rollout.

Yes, the US has already rollout a vaccine for nearly half its adult population, but Fauci points out that’s because of the necessity to rush it out given the rampant rate of infections. All rollouts face problems early on before scale takes over. That has been the experience in most countries and likely will be the case here too.

We all remember Fauci as the expert prepared to stand up to Donald Trump when he was doing little to manage the pandemic last year and earlier this year. He’s hardly an apologist for slowness of action – lets be clear about that. The good doctor’s point is that around the world countries that have much higher rates of vaccinations than Australia does are in that position because of rushed rollouts required because of the scale of the virus problem. Australia didn’t have to bypass processes to do the same because we are living virtually virus free.

The US has already rollout a vaccine for nearly half its adult population, but Fauci points out that’s because of the necessity to rush it out given the rampant rate of infections. Picture: AFP

Australia, having managed the crisis so well, hasn’t needed to rush rollouts, that is a fact. Is able to wait and watch the challenges faced elsewhere and learn from them. One of the reasons we have been able to be so cautious with the AstraZeneca vaccine is precisely because we weren’t at the front of the queue rolling it out. Whether the caution is overdone is another matter. The politicians are following the medical advice, for better or worse. Clotting problems abroad have been able to be assessed and Australia’s medical advice to thus limit who gets it has been made with next to no fatalities, rather than in the wake of a plethora of them because inadequate processes were followed ahead of mass vaccinations.

That has been the overseas experience, avoided here.

Condemnation of the PM and his government over the rollout has bordered on the hysterical. Yes, there have been problems. Yes, Australia could and should have done better maximising the diversity of the vaccines ordered. A lack of diversity seems to be a problem for this government across policy areas. And why the commonwealth sought to take full ownership of such a rollout in the first place staggers me. Presumably to gain full credit before pulling the trigger on an election. But that politicised approach showed a lack of historical understanding about why states are better at service delivery than the commonwealth is.

They have the lions share of experience. Hence yesterday’s pleas by Scott Morrison for states to come to the rescue, again.

There have also been problems with the vaccine rollout in part beyond the Coalition’s control. Consider the issues with the University of Queensland vaccine which we invested in heavily. It had to be junked. Imagine the criticism the commonwealth would have received had it not invested so heavily in a home developed vaccine. And the AstraZeneca problems were unforeseen, including the trade issues with Europe. Now we see the surge in COVID cases in India – a major supplier of vaccines – only likely to further hamper the global rollout. These are factors few predicted and they are hard to prepare for even with hindsight.

While criticisms of the rollout are justified, and I have partaken in such criticisms too, let’s try and make them proportionate to the situation. Rather than simply pile on for the sake of piling on, with scant regard for fair context and circumstances. Fauci well understands this point, hence his defence of where Australia is at.

Having witnessed the disaster that transpired under Trump’s presidency in the US first hand Fauci knows how lucky Australia really is.

Peter van Onselen is a professor of politics and public policy at the University of Western Australia and Griffith University.