Huge boost for Australia’s vaccine rollout

One million extra doses of the Covid-19 Pfizer vaccine are on the way to Australia after the commonwealth secured a deal with Poland.

One million extra doses of the Covid-19 Pfizer vaccine are on the way to Australia after the commonwealth secured a deal with Poland, Scott Morrison has announced.

The Prime Minister said the doses were on a plane that left Warsaw on Saturday and would arrive in the country late on Sunday evening.

Mr Morrison described the extra supplies as “one million doses of hope” for Australians and particularly New South Wales, following the state’s “most concerning day” after posting 466 local coronavirus cases on Saturday and four deaths.

The extra one million doses will be given to younger Australians aged 20-39, the age group identified by the Doherty Institute as peak transmitters of the virus. They will begin being administered this week.

More than half of the doses, 530,000, will be prioritised for 12 local government areas in NSW that have the highest rates of the virus.

“This will give everyone aged 20-39 in the 12 LGAs the opportunity to be vaccinated,” he said.

The remaining doses will be provided to other states and territories on a per capita basis.

Mr Morrison also said by next week 50 per cent of eligible Australians will have received their first Covid-19 vaccine dose.

Mr Morrison said the allocation on doses was based “directly” on health advice from chief medical officer Paul Kelly.