Australians to get coronavirus vaccine from March, health minister says
Australians will get a coronavirus vaccine from March, Health Minister Greg Hunt has confirmed.
Mr Hunt said Australia is "well placed" to give the green light to at least two of the four vaccines the country has bought.
"We are on track to deliver vaccines to Australians, commencing March of 2021," he said.
"We won't be out of this until we have a nation which has had a full vaccination programme.
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Health Minister Greg Hunt addresses the media regarding an Australian coronavirus vaccine. Australian Health Minister Greg Hunt
"But we are on track to deliver those vaccines. It's well ahead of expectations."
He said approvals on the first two vaccines are being fast tracked and could be given in January "with an absolute premium on safety".
Australia has bought 134.8 million vaccines in total - enough for three times the population.
However, the Pfizer vaccine, which was revealed this week to be 90 per cent effective in trials needs to be kept at minus 70C.
This means a "cold chain" distribution system is needed.
Mr Hunt said Australia has now secured a deal to distribute 10 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine.
Pfizer is one of the firms making a coronavirus vaccine Nine
Like the other vaccines, it is likely to be sent to hospitals, respiratory clinics and GP centres.
"We have secured that cold chain for Australia," Mr Hunt, said.
The Pfizer vaccine is being developed in Europe and can be flown on planes, John Skerritt, head of the Therapeutic Goods Administration, said.
However, it needs to be transported in what he called "very sophisticated eskies" filled with dry ice.
Mr Skerritt said the esky can be refilled with dry ice twice, meaning it lasts for a month and a half. However, planes can only carry so much dry ice.
He said the reopening of domestic borders, allowing more flights to be scheduled, is important.
This photo provided by Pfizer shows part of a "freezer farm," a football field-sized facility for storing finished COVID-19 vaccines, under construction in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Pfizer's experimental vaccine requires ultracold storage, at about -70°C. (Jeremy Davidson/Pfizer via AP) AP
"That's why the opening of the domestic borders will really help with distribution here," he said.
However Mr Skerritt said the TGA is still collecting a lot more data on each vaccine and will be working with regulators around the world.
Australia has already secured more than three times the amount of vaccines needed, but is also watching other vaccine trials to see how they work out.
"We'll reach a shared view on how safe and how efficacious they are," he said.
'I'm hoping all going well that by the end of January we'll be able to give the first couple of vaccines an approval."
Mr Hunt said globally, around 7000 people are dying every day from COVID-19, with 51 million people diagnosed.
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