Canberra: The Australian Government has secured an additional one million Moderna doses from European Union (EU) member states to further bolster Australia's vaccination programme.
The extra doses, along with the first shipment of the already contracted doses, will arrive within the next week and go directly to local community pharmacies across the country and into the arms of Australians.
This comes at the same time that the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) is now also recommending Moderna for everyone 12 years and older.
In line with approval by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), everyone aged 12-59, including families, can access these doses from their community pharmacy.
The doses have been sourced by the Government from surplus vaccines destined for Spain, Czech Republic, Portugal and Bulgaria and will further bolster the community pharmacy vaccine rollout.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the extra supplies of Modena represented a family sized dose of hope.
"Families will now be able to go along together to their pharmacy to get their vaccinations. This additional supply also enables us to direct urgent supplies where they are needed most, and make up the final ground for everyone in Australia to be offered a jab, originally set back in January for in October. In October we're going to have enough vaccines in the country to have offered everyone a jab meaning we'll be able to take the next steps in our plan to safely reopen Australia," the Prime Minister said in a press release on Sunday.
“As all these extra doses arrive in Australia we'll see queues for vaccines cut at the more than 9,000 places you can get vaccinated. Mum, dad and the kids will also be able to go to their local community pharmacist to get vaccinated as a family all at the same time. These are doses of hope for families in particular as we move to reopen Australia safely. These additional Moderna doses build on four million Pfizer doses sourced from the United Kingdom, one million from Poland and 500,000 from Singapore. I'd like to thank the European Commission and partnering countries for their cooperation, and Sweden and Norway for their assistance. I also thank Moderna with whom we have also worked closely to secure this arrangement," he added.
Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Women, Marise Payne said Australia's network of diplomats had been working around the clock in securing agreements such as this.
"This agreement further demonstrates the important role our diplomats play and the strength of Australia's bonds with European nations and the European Union," Minister Payne said.
"Australia is committed to working with all partners across the world because our shared recovery from covid-19 depends on it," she added.
According to her, the safety of the Australian people is the Government's top priority and upon arrival the Moderna doses will undergo the same TGA batch release process as all other covid-19 vaccines.
Cek Berita dan Artikel yang lain di Google News
FOLLOW US
Ikuti media sosial medcom.id dan dapatkan berbagai keuntungan
