Australia’s vaccine program has received a boost, with a doubling of the number of Pfizer vaccines flowing into the country, after a ‘dose swap’ deal was secured with the UK.
Scott Morrison says the deal will “break the back” of the September supply issues, with the British prime minister, Boris Johnson, agreeing to send 4m Pfizer doses to Australia, which will be distributed to the states and territories on a per capita basis.
The doses will leave the UK on Saturday to boost the September vaccine program, when 12 to 15-year-olds are included in the rollout. Australia will return the doses from its own supply at a later date.
“I said I would leave no stone unturned and I can tell you I’ve been turning over some stones in recent times,” Morrison said.
“To ensure that we can progress the vaccination program as quickly as we possibly can. And it will now build on what is a very strong performance.”
The news of the latest deal, arriving on the heels of a 500,000 dose swap agreement with Singapore, comes ahead of a fractious national cabinet meeting, where increased cases in New South Wales and Victoria have put pressure on the timeline of the national plan.
NSW recorded its worst daily case number in 10 weeks, reporting 1,431 locally acquired cases and 12 deaths, including a woman in her 30s who died in her home. Authorities believe the daily cases have still not peaked and have warned the community to prepare for higher numbers in the next two weeks.
Victoria recorded its highest daily case numbers since its second wave, with 208 new confirmed cases and one death. Daniel Andrews has said the state is focused on suppressing case numbers as much as possible while it increases vaccinations, but has conceded Covid zero is no longer possible.
The explosion of daily cases in Australia’s two biggest states has leaders of non-lockdown states concerned, raising questions over whether they will open their borders when Australia reaches its target of having 80% of the adult population vaccinated.
Sign up to receive the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning
One of the most concerned, the Queensland premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, toned down her rhetoric ahead of Friday’s national cabinet meeting, insisting she was committed to the detail of the agreed on plan, but wanted to see more discussion.
“I want to see further, detailed modelling,” she said.
“It is only fair and reasonable that we have a constructive debate in this country. And rather than picking fights, and attacks, let’s have a decent educated conversation.”
She denied she had been ‘scaremongering’ on the issue of vaccinating children, despite no Australian-used vaccine having been approved for children under 12 and said more conversations on measures to be included in the plan was important.
“There is a very legitimate conversation, where I am asking questions, about what happens to a cohort of young children, who aren’t vaccinated.
“It is not about being against a national plan. We are all for a national plan.”
Quick Guide
How to get the latest news from Guardian Australia
Show
Ahead of the meeting, Morrison said while the numbers and the modelling would change, the crux of the national plan did not.
“What doesn’t change is what we have to do,” he said. “We have to keep up record rates of vaccination and continue to prepare for in phase B and C the pressures on public hospitals and systems.
“We have to get home quarantine operational and at scale to get your phases B and C, people can travel again, move around the country, Australia can be connected again and with the world, people can attend weddings, people can have household gatherings and birthday parties and sadly, have the funerals, but people will be able to attend them. Worshippers can return to church, picnics can happen in larger numbers if we can do all those things.
“The question about what the numbers are, they change every day, but what doesn’t change is what we have to do. That’s exactly what we will need to focus on.”
Read More:Scott Morrison unveils ‘dose swap’ deal with UK to provide extra 4m Pfizer vaccines | Australian politics
2021-09-03 05:13:00
