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- Australian’s aged over 50 could be vaccinated against COVID-19 sooner than expected as the government resets its troubled vaccination rollout
- The Prime Minister wants the AstraZeneca jab to be made available to this age group via mass vaccination hubs as well as GPs
- Scott Morrison is also pushing for a 12-week vaccination sprint, to try and speed up Australia’s slow COVID-19 immunisation rollout
- Under this idea, the majority of under-50’s would be vaccinated in the last three months of the year when the Pfizer vaccines begin arriving
- Around 1.6 million people have been vaccinated against COVID-19 in Australia using the AstraZeneca and Pfizer jabs
Australian’s aged over 50 could be vaccinated against COVID-19 sooner than expected as the Federal Government attempts to reset its troubled vaccination rollout.
The Prime Minister is pushing for the AstraZeneca jab to be made available to this age group, or phase 2a of the vaccine plan, via mass vaccination hubs and local doctors such as GPs.
“We don’t want to see one vaccine that’s rolling off the line and going through the approval processes and the batch testing sitting in a fridge,” Scott Morrison said.
“If there’s someone over 50 who’s there and wants to take that vaccine we’ll be looking at how that can be achieved,” the PM explained.
“There are strong, strong arguments for the bring forward of over 50s with the AstraZeneca vaccine, which is a safe and effective vaccine for those aged over 50,” he added.
Scott Morrison will confirm the plan at the next meeting of state and territory leaders later this week.
The Prime Minister will also use the meeting to push for a 12-week vaccination sprint to try and speed up Australia’s slow COVID-19 immunisation rollout.
The PM explained he wants six million under-50’s to be vaccinated in the last three months of the year when an extra 20 million doses of the Pfizer vaccines begin arriving.
“There’s a lot of work to be done given that would be effectively, if we wished, a 12-week sprint,” Scott Morrison explained.
“To be able to do that safely and effectively… there’d need to be plenty of planning,” he confirmed.
The Morrison Government ordered an additional 20 million doses of the Pfizer jab after the AstraZeneca vaccine was ruled out for under-50’s due to a rare blood clot risk.
The vaccine is still recommended for those aged over 50 and will be the primary vaccination offered to anyone in that specific age group.
To date, around 1.6 million people have been vaccinated against COVID-19 in Australia using the AstraZeneca and Pfizer jabs.
