Australia's latest hard lockdowns raise concerns over delayed vaccine rollout

Almost a year ago heartbreaking pictures of Australia under lockdown made many desperate to get a vaccine and once again millions of Australians are now back in hard lockdown, raising questions about our vaccine rollout.

"It's our only ticket back to normality," Professor Paul Griffin said last year about vaccines.

Last year Health Minister Greg Hunt said, "it appears as if all of our contracted vaccines are on path to being successful, safe and effective".

READ MORE: Small businesses react to Sydney lockdown

And Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison also encouraged all of us to get the jab.

But as the world starts opening back up with crowds flocking to stadiums in Europe, and where they even have their own COVID-19 passports - Australia is lagging.

Australia is at 94 on the vaccination rollout ladder – only just ahead of India.

READ MORE: Epidemiologist criticises Sydney's lockdown delays

"We are now, this day, exactly where we were last year in Melbourne," Dr Mukesh Haikerwal who owns and runs a GP clinic in Melbourne's west told A Current Affair.

"We are on the precipice of a major national disaster the way things are running at the moment."

Once again businesses are devastated and not all Aussies are confident in our vaccine rollout.

READ MORE: The race to get COVID-19 tested as Sydney refuses to lockdown

The government has secured 53.8 million AstraZeneca vaccines - but as it currently stands, they aren't recommended for the vast majority of Australians.

And as their expiry date creeps closer there are now calls for the government to release them to anyone of any age who is willing to take it.

Dr Haikerwal said many of his patients under 60 want AstraZeneca but he's too scared to give them the jab in fear of being sued if something goes wrong.

"It means we're in a terrible situation where people can get vaccinated, want to get vaccinated, but we can't get hold of the right dose for them," he said.

"They should put their money where their mouth is and say, 'we will cover anybody in the system who has a medical misadventure, because of the vaccine'.

"Look after us, look after Australians."

Jill Manley, who is at risk of blood clots, said she spent six weeks trying to get approval for the Pfizer vaccine only to be told it will be mid-July before she can get the jab.

"It's very very annoying, frustrating because they keep pumping it on the TV to get vaccinated but what about the people who are trying so hard and can't get done? It's like we're living in a third world country," she said.

Wassam El Samad opened his Asian eatery in western Sydney last Friday only to have to shut it down 24 hours later.

"We have to shut down and close the business … all the stock we have is going to go out of date, unused," he said.

Barber Salim Mawad said a sluggish vaccine rollout has cost him dearly.

It's cost, "the rent and to live and to pay the mortgage and we have got family," he said.

And while Australians wait for the country to catch up, questions have been raised about how the government is going to help small businesses affected by lockdowns.

Already struggling tourism operators should be making $10 billion over the next two weeks, but with school holidays cancelled those figures could tip many traders over the edge.

Chief Executive Officer of the Tourism and Transport Forum, Margy Osmond, said "we're expecting to lose about $6 billion of that over the next two weeks and in states like NSW, they'll be bleeding $150 million a day".

"The problem we have got is the long-term damage, this is about ruining, destroying traveller confidence, whether that is leisure or business travel and it is going to take a very long time to bring that back."