- Australia’s Prime Minister has confirmed another 20 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine have been ordered, after AstraZeneca’s jab was ruled out for under-50s
- In light of blood clots being added as a rare risk to the drug-makers COVID-19 jab, the government is recommending young people use a different vaccine
- In order to vaccinate those Australians under 50, Scott Morrison said a total of 40 million vaccines have been ordered from Pfizer
- The PM expects the extra immunisations to begin arriving from October, with only 1 million doses of the jab having arrived in Australia to date
- Australia ordered the majority of its COVID-19 vaccines from AstraZeneca, but the government said it doesn’t expect this setback to affect the wider rollout
Australia’s Prime Minister has confirmed another 20 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine have been ordered after AstraZeneca’s jab was ruled out for under-50s.
New risk
The news comes in light of blood clots being added as a rare risk to the drug-makers COVID-19 jab, with young people now advised to use a different vaccine.
In order to vaccinate those Australians under 50, the Federal Government has ordered a total of 40 million doses from Pfizer.
Scott Morrison also reiterated that the AstraZeneca immunisation was safe to use and that the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation still recommends those aged over 50 get vaccinated using the jab.
“The information is very clear that if you’re over the age of 50, it is recommended that you do have the vaccine,” he said.
“If there were to be another wave in Australia, the people most vulnerable to death from COVID-19 are those who are in 1B,” the PM added.
Timeline
The PM said he expects the extra Pfizer immunisations to begin arriving from October onwards, with only one million doses of the drug-makers jab having arrived in Australia to date.
The Federal Government ordered the majority of its COVID-19 vaccines from AstraZeneca, but Scott Morrison said he doesn’t expect this setback to affect the wider COVID-19 vaccination plan.
Initially, the government had hoped to have the balance of the adult population vaccinated by October — but that timeline was dropped last month when vaccines bound for Australia failed to arrive.
“We’re not in a position at the moment to reconfirm a timetable. We’re going to work through the implications of this most recent medical advice, for the calibration of the rollout,” Prime Minister Morrison said.
“AstraZeneca vaccine remains a critical component of Australia’s vaccination program,” the PM added.
“It is particularly essential in those 1A and 1B components of the program which ensures that we are protecting the most vulnerable in the community in a safe way,” he explained.