The 20 million extra doses of the Pfizer vaccine ordered by the federal government due to concerns over the AstraZeneca jab may protect against mutant strains of Covid-19.
Chief Health Officer Paul Kelly said US company Pfizer is working on adapting the vaccine to protect better against the UK, South African and Brazilian strains which are more deadly and transmit more easily than original Covid.
Speaking on ABC Radio National on Monday morning, he said doses that are due in Australia in the final three months of the year could be updated jabs.
The government ordered 20million more doses of Pfizer. Pictured: Pfizer vaccines arrive in Australia in February
‘We know they’re doing that work and MRNA vaccines can be adapted quickly,’ he said.
‘So that will be a process between now and then to work out what’s the most effective doses that we need, recognising that they are in experimental phases at the moment, they haven’t tested them fully.’
The government ordered 20million more doses of Pfizer last week after scientists recommended under 50s do not take the AstraZeneca vaccine due to a minuscule risk of blood clots.
Australia had been relying heavily on the AstraZeneca jab with 53.8million doses ordered.
The vaccine is being produced locally at the CSL factory in Melbourne – but CSL has warned that it will not be able to make booster shots to better protect against the mutant strains until the end of the year.
The AstraZeneca vaccine protects against serious disease caused by these strains but struggles to protect against mild infection.
Receiving adapted Pfizer jabs could therefore be the best way for Australia to wipe out the virus by stopping it from spreading.
Scott Morrison (pictured at a service to pay respects to Prince Philip on Sunday) is being roasted by opponents after dropping the aim to offer all Australians a Covid jab by October
Meanwhile, Scott Morrison is being roasted by opponents after dropping the aim to offer all Australians a Covid jab by October.
The prime minister announced on his Facebook page on Sunday that he was scrapping the target because there are ‘many uncertainties involved’.
Mr Morrison is already under pressure over the glacial pace of the rollout which was supposed to inoculate 4million by the start of April but has only reached 1.1million.
Trade Minister Dan Tehan said on Sunday the government wants to offer everyone the jab by the end of the year, but Mr Morrison said this was not guaranteed.
Independent senator Rex Patrick slammed the PM for failing to set a new target.
‘Having blindly overpromised and then failed to deliver, now Scott Morrison won’t make any new COVID19 Aus vaccine commitments,’ he Tweeted.
‘There’s no published plan because he’s allergic to transparency and no targets set because he lacks leadership.’
Labor frontbencher Kristina Keneally also slammed the PM, tweeting: ‘He set a target of 4 million vaccinated by 31 March. Missed it.
‘He set a target of vaccinating all Australians by October. He’s dropped it.
‘He said Australia would be at the front of the queue for vaccines. We’re not even in the top 100. Scott Morrison is all spin, no delivery.’
Registered Nurse Rebecca DeJong receives an injection of COVID-19 vaccine in Townsville
Opposition leader Anthony Albanese said it was ‘beyond belief’ that the Morrison government ‘seem to have no idea about vaccination timetables’.
‘This should have been their main focus given they have handed most responsibility to the states,’ he said on Twitter on Sunday night.
Australia’s delayed vaccine rollout could have devastating consequences for the economy, according to a report by the McKell Institute.
The group calculates that a delay of just over 100 days could cause an extra 11 days of lockdown at a cost of some $1.4 billion.
Mr Morrison said Australia’s vaccine program is faring well on an international scale.
‘The latest data shows that Australia’s vaccination program is advancing consistent with comparable countries such as Germany, and ahead of Canada, Sweden, France, NZ, South Korea and Japan at the same stage of their rollouts,’ he said.
Australia had relied heavily on the AstraZeneca vaccine with 53.8million doses ordered. It is also the only jab that it can manufacture onshore at the CSL factory in Melbourne.
Australia’s Pfizer vaccines were due to arrive at a rate of 130,000 from April, but Health Minister Greg Hunt said this will now hugely expand and double by July.
Last week Mr Morrison said Australians can still choose to take the the AstraZeneca jab if they want.
‘It is not a ban on the AstraZeneca vaccine, it is not a prohibition on the AstraZeneca vaccine, it recommends and notes that the risk of these side effects are remote.
‘They are very rare. We are talking in the vicinity of five to six per million which is a rather rare event. But it must be acknowledged,’ Mr Morrison said.
‘It’s important so Australians can make informed decisions about their vaccination and their health care with their medical professionals, with their doctor.
‘So there was no instruction not to take that vaccine. There is an acknowledgement of the risk that is there but as is the case always with these matters these are decisions for Australians.’
The prime minster encouraged Australians over 50 to have the AstraZeneca jab because they are less at risk of the clotting events and more at risk of getting seriously sick from Covid-19.
