Australia’s vaccine rollout will now start next month. Here’s what we’ll need
Australia’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout will now begin in mid or late February. Vaccination will commence with workers dealing with international arrivals or quarantine facilities, frontline health workers and those living in aged care or with a disability.
Vaccinations are not a silver bullet,” Mr Morrison said
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the Government “optimistically” aims to vaccinate 80,000 Australians a week and 4 million by the end of March.
The first vaccine doses were initially planned for March, but the rollout has now been brought forward, pending the Therapeutic Goods Administration’s approval of the Pfizer vaccine, anticipated by the end of January. Morrison said it would take a further two weeks for the first shipments of vaccine to arrive after that.
Australia has a longer time frame for hitting 80 per cent, but a population three times the size of Israel’s. Overall, an average of about 170,000 injections per day will be needed to deliver the necessary 42 million doses to 21 million Australians over 245 days (March to October).
Australians will be divided by health risks and age brackets in a first look at the coronavirus vaccine rollout plan.
The blueprint places top priority in those most at risk of developing complications or dying from COVID-19.
From there, the plan sees the country divided into 12 age groups.
Those aged 70 and older will get the vaccine first followed by 65 to 70 year olds.
Front line workers will also be given top priority.
Australia’s government plans to use GPs and pharmacies as injecting sites. Staff at each location will need to be trained for the logistics about timing and keeping record of the type of vaccination each recipient receives.
- Phase 1a – up to 1.4m doses: Quarantine and border workers, frontline healthcare workers, aged care and disability care staff and residents;
- Phase 1b – up to 14.8m doses: Elderly adults aged over 70, other healthcare workers, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders aged over 55, younger adults with underlying medical conditions, including a disability, high-risk workers including police, fire, defence, emergency services and meat processing;
- Phase 2a- up to 15.8m doses: Adults aged over 50, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders aged over 18, other critical and high-risk workers;
- Phase 2b- up to 16m doses: Balance of adult population, catch up any unvaccinated Australians from previous phases;
- Phase 3 – up to 13.6m doses: Children aged under 18, if recommended.
