CANBERRA • Australia is on course to begin administering the first Covid-19 vaccines next month, said Prime Minister Scott Morrison yesterday, as the country moves to accelerate its inoculation programme while two states try to contain outbreaks.
Mr Morrison said Australia's pharmaceutical regulator is expected to approve the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine by the end of this month, with the first doses issued within weeks.
"We are now in a position where we believe we will be able to commence vaccinations in mid-to late February," Mr Morrison told reporters in Canberra.
Earlier this week, Australia said it expected to begin Covid-19 vaccinations in March.
Australia has reported just over 28,500 Covid-19 cases and 909 deaths since the pandemic began, with border closures and speedy tracking systems helping to keep numbers relatively low. The authorities are trying to contain new virus clusters in its largest cities, Sydney and Melbourne.
The most populous state New South Wales, the epicentre of the country's latest outbreak, yesterday said it recorded zero local infections in the past 24 hours.
Australia has ordered 10 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. It has also struck a deal with AstraZeneca in which the vaccine will be produced locally.
Mr Morrison said regulatory approval of the AstraZeneca vaccine is expected next month.
Once both are approved, he said, Australia aims to vaccinate 80,000 people each week. This would then be expanded in the following four to six weeks, and by the end of March, four million people could be vaccinated.
The acceleration in the Covid-19 vaccination programme comes amid heightened concern about the spread of the virus globally.
Australia's national Cabinet will meet a month earlier than scheduled today, Mr Morrison said, as the authorities seek to stop the spread of a more contagious variant of Covid-19 that emerged in Britain. A handful of international arrivals in Australia have tested positive for this strain.
The Cabinet meeting will consider proposals to strengthen travel rules for citizens and residents returning from overseas, Mr Morrison wrote in a Facebook post late on Wednesday.
Australian media reported that the government plans to introduce mandatory Covid-19 testing for all international travellers before they board their flights to the country.
REUTERS