Australian Minister of Health Greg Hunt yesterday announced that an extra 330,000 COVID-19 vaccines would be directed to Victoria as he calls for people to seize the “moment of momentum” and get vaccinated.
The commitment of extra doses would see another 115,000 AstraZeneca vaccines sent to Victoria for each of the next two weeks, along with 100,000 more Pfizer doses for three weeks from Monday next week.
The extra 100,000 Pfizer doses would enable an additional 50,000 Victorians to be vaccinated after the state has worked through existing inventories.
Photo: Reuters
“That is a recognition of the very strong work being done here in Victoria and the strong demand,” Hunt said.
“We want to see other states and territories have that same degree of public support and confidence. It is going well around the country, but always we push for more,” he added.
The pledge comes after Hunt reported that a record week of vaccinations had been achieved in just six days, with 772,752 the new high. On Saturday, more than 88,000 people were vaccinated.
In total, 5,016,000 vaccinations have taken place.
“The vaccine program is accelerating, Australians are stepping forward and as supply becomes available, the public is stepping up and doing their part of the job,” Hunt said.
“Now at the moment of momentum, is the time we ask Australians to keep coming forward to be vaccinated. You’re doing an amazing job, but please keep booking, please keep attending, please come forward for your first doses, please come forward for your second doses,” he added.
More than 58 percent of Victoria residents older than 70 were vaccinated, with 42 percent of all people older than 50 in the state so far receiving a shot, he said.
Earlier yesterday, Labor Party leader Anthony Albanese turned the focus to quarantine facilities, saying the government must immediately step up to stop the country from plunging into regular lockdowns.
Following the commonwealth’s decision last week to push ahead with federal support for a new purpose-built quarantine facility in Victoria, Albanese said that more needed to be built in other states before the next federal election.
“This needs to be fixed now, not wait until after the next federal election, which will occur perhaps as late as May of next year,” he told Sky News.
“We can’t afford to keep having these lockdowns,” he added.
The government has so far resisted a Queensland proposal for a new quarantine center in Toowoomba, while the New South Wales government has flagged the possibility of a new quarantine facility in its state — to be “owned and operated by the commonwealth.”
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison had been in contact with the New South Wales government, and had confirmed that the state “at this point” was not seeking any support for any additional quarantine facility, Albanese said.
The federal government will spend A$200 million (US$154.83 million) on construction of the new facility to be located either at Avalon or Mickleham, but the Victorian government would fund the operating costs.
On Saturday, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk told the party’s state conference that what the government was proposing was a “no-brainer” that would help provide safety and certainty.
“We are not proposing construction of an international space station,” she said.
Morrison has been critical of the Queensland proposal, saying the government had received scant detail until late last week, and raising concerns about its suitability given its distance from Brisbane.
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