Australia began its coronavirus vaccine launch reports, with frontline healthcare professionals and the elderly receiving the first round of doses.
According to the media, Prime Minister Scott Morrison was among a group of 20 people who received the first doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine before the broader launch started on Monday. 60,000 doses are expected to be administered by the end of this week, reports Reuters. AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine batches are expected to arrive in Australia in the next two weeks.
According to Reuters, Morrison called the launch of the vaccine a “game changer”, noting that the launch is being considered one of the most complex operations in Australian history due to the extreme sub-zero temperatures required to transport and store the Pfizer vaccine. .
“Today is a real milestone in our collective response to tackling COVID-19 and getting things under control as quickly as possible,” acting medical director Michael Kidd told Australian Broadcasting Corp.
Reuters reports that the majority of Australia’s population of 25 million should be immunized with the AstraZeneca vaccine, with vaccinations completed in October this year.
According to data from the World Health Organization, Australia confirmed 28,920 cases of coronavirus and 909 deaths. Australia has not reported any coronavirus deaths since late 2020.