Australians to be 'fully vaccinated' against COVID-19 by end of October

Australian Health Minister Greg Hunt has said that the nation's plans for the COVID-19 vaccine are ahead of schedule and the rollout is expected to be completed by the end of October. The public distribution of the vaccine in Australia is expected to begin as early as March. The government had previously said that Australians would be vaccinated by the end of 2021, although the jab against the virus will be voluntary. 

According to The Guardian, Hunt said on Monday, December 28 that while the progression of the vaccine was well underway, the government’s approach was to "under-promise and over-deliver". He added that the country’s vaccine program is on track and ahead of schedule and the government expects that Australians will be fully vaccinated by the end of October on the basis that it’s free, universal, and entirely voluntary. He also urged as many Australians to be vaccinated as possible. 

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Australia has acquired vaccines from Pfizer/BioNTech, AstraZeneca/Oxford University, and Novavax. Hunt informed that the government has finalised its contract with Pfizer and expects its assessment to be completed at the end of the next month. He said, "Pfizer is progressing well, Oxford is progressing well". 

While the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine has already submitted additional data about their vaccine, the Health Minister said that the Australian drugs regulator, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), will have the final data on the Pfizer vaccine to analyse by February. Hunt said that the government is hopeful that they will have both domestic production and international import of these vaccines ahead of schedule. "And I think that’s reassuring, reaffirming, and an important point hope," he added. 

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Australian states impose travel ban

Meanwhile, Australian states have started imposing entry bans on Sydney residents as the novel coronavirus outbreak spreads in the largest city of the island nation. With New Years' just around the corner, the holiday plans have been dashed by the border closures outside New South Wales (NSW) with even airlines cancelling several flights leaving the Sydney Airport. 

As per reports, the city has recorded at least 83 cases till now in the outbreak and all are linked to Sydney’s Northern Beaches region. In the wake of the situation, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that "2020 is not done with us yet". Speaking from Canberra, Morrison called the recent events in the country "incredibly frustrating and disappointing" for people across the nation who were looking forward to get-togethers and inter-state travel. 

(Image Credits: AP)

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