CANBERRA, Australia (AP) – Australia started its COVID-19 inoculation program on Monday, days after its neighbor New Zealand, with both governments deciding that their pandemic experiences did not require the rapid tracking of vaccine launches that occurred in many parts of the world.
Other countries in the Asia-Pacific region that have dealt relatively well with the pandemic have recently started vaccinating or are about to start, including Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Singapore.
Catherine Bennett, an epidemiologist at Deakin University in Australia, said that countries that do not face a virus crisis benefit from spending their time and learning from countries that have taken emergency vaccination measures, such as the United States.
“We now have data on vaccinated pregnant women. Natural accidents, like incorrect dosing, happen in a real-world launch, ”said Bennett. “All of these things are really valuable ideas.”
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison took his first dose of the Pfizer vaccine on Sunday in a show of confidence in the product. Australia is prioritizing building public trust in COVID-19 vaccines before delivery speed.
Health and border control workers, as well as residents and asylum workers, began receiving the Pfizer vaccine on Monday in centers across the country. Australian Health Minister Greg Hunt will receive the AstraZeneca vaccine when it becomes available within weeks.
The vast majority of cases in Australia are infected travelers abroad, which are detected during mandatory quarantines in 14-day hotels. Australia recorded 909 deaths from coronavirus.
New Zealand started inoculating last week after receiving its first batch of the Pfizer vaccine.
The nation of 5 million people has successfully eradicated the spread of the virus, and the first people to be vaccinated are border workers and their families. This is a different priority group than in most countries, and the idea is to prevent the virus from spreading to any infected traveler who arrives. Thereafter, health professionals and essentials, along with vulnerable elderly people, will be vaccinated.
However, the launch of a program to vaccinate the general population in New Zealand will not begin until the second half of the year, behind many other countries.
In Australia, some infectious disease and ethics experts at Australian National University accused the government of accumulating vaccines and argued that the government should send surplus supplies to countries in desperate need.
Elsewhere in Asia, Thailand, which has had only 83 virus deaths, has not yet started vaccination. He will receive the first 200,000 doses of the Sinovac vaccine on Wednesday. This is part of the Thai government’s plan that has so far secured 2 million doses of Sinovac and 61 million doses of AstraZeneca.
The government has a free vaccination policy for all Thais and plans to inject half the population this year. The government said it hopes to start vaccinations a few days after the first batch of vaccines arrives.
Vietnam, which recorded 35 deaths, announced last week that it will receive 5 million doses of vaccine by the end of February and expects to start vaccinations as early as March. Five million people – mostly frontline workers – will receive the first shots.
Cambodia, which has yet to report any deaths from viruses, received its first shipment of 600,000 doses of vaccines from China on February 7, part of 1 million doses donated by Beijing. The country started the vaccination program on February 10, starting with Prime Minister Hun Sen’s children, government ministers and employees of a state hospital.
In Singapore, which reported 29 virus deaths, some 250,000 residents, including health professionals and other frontline workers, were vaccinated last week, according to health officials. The goal is that 1 million more people will receive the first dose of the vaccine by the beginning of April.
Laos, which also reported no deaths, received 300,000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine on 8 February. A Health Ministry official said he expects 20% of the Lao population, or 1.6 million people, to be vaccinated within the year.