Scott Morrison claimed that countries including Britain had approved the vaccines too quickly
Credit: LUKAS COCH/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Concerns around Australia’s Covid-19 vaccine schedule have been re-ignited by recent new cases, as authorities plan a digital vaccination certificate to boost freedom of movement.
Australia has not begun rolling out a Covid-19 vaccine, despite many Australians remaining stranded overseas and a strict limit on the number of returnees allowed each week to take pressure off the quarantine system.
Three cases of the coronavirus among hotel quarantine staff have emerged in the past eight days, and on Monday it was revealed authorities were investigating the source of a new mystery case in a returned traveller, including the possibility it was contracted in a Sydney quarantine hotel.
The returned traveller tested negative twice in quarantine, then positive two days after ending their two-weeks of isolation.
Coronavirus Australia Spotlight Chart — Cases default
In December, opposition leader Anthony Albanese urged the Government to accelerate its plan to distribute the vaccine in late March.
Malcolm Turnbull, the former prime minister, echoed Mr Albanese’s call, saying there was a “powerful case” for fast-tracking the plan.
In January, Prime Minister Scott Morrison suggested countries, including the UK, had taken risks with their schedule, telling local media there was “a real desperation” among countries vaccinating their residents quickly.
While Mr Morrison suggested that a safety-first approach was the reason behind the delay, his government had not secured deals for the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine and the University of Queensland/CSL vaccine until September, before signing deals for the Novavax and Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines in November, months after other governments had already moved to secure their vaccine stock.
Under public and political pressure, the prime minister recently announced the rollout would begin in February rather than late March. It now seems likely to begin in the last week of February.
Adding fuel to the fire, in late January the EU placed export restrictions on vaccinations produced by Pfizer and AstraZeneca, which could further delay the rollout in Australia.
Social media users have complained of the slow distribution of the vaccine in Australia.
One Twitter user wrote: "I love it how ppl are talking about vaccination certificates when the only vaccines in the (allegedly) foreseeable future are 10m doses of Pfizer that can only be administered through big city hospitals & we don’t know when that will happen either"
Australians who are vaccinated against Covid-19 will be able to carry proof of vaccination certificates on their smartphones through existing government apps, including the Express Plus Medicare app, it was announced on Sunday.
Paper certificates will also be issued, and Minister for Government Services Stuart Robert said “every Australian will have a record of their vaccination, should they need it”.
It is likely the vaccine certificates will be needed to gain entry to certain high-risk venues including but not limited to elderly care homes, where the vast majority of Australia’s Covid-19 deaths have occurred, but it is as yet unclear how the states and territories will regulate the use of the certificates.
In January the New South Wales government said it was considering making vaccination certificates necessary to enter pubs, cafes and restaurants in the state.
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