ACT in the dark on vaccine supply as next phase of rollout looms

Phase 1B of the vaccine rollout is set to start on Monday, including all Australians aged 70 and over regardless of whether they live in aged care, people with specific medical conditions, health workers not already vaccinated and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults.

Capacity to deliver vaccines at the Garran Surge Centre tripled this week, and Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith said capacity could increase to 6000 vaccinations weekly if the supply from the federal government is sufficient.

"We're still waiting to get confirmation from the Commonwealth of what the supply of both Pfizer and AstraZeneca is going to be over the next few weeks," Ms Stephen-Smith said on Tuesday.

"Obviously, they are subject to both global and local supply chains in terms of the Australian-produced AstraZeneca vaccine.

"We'll continue to work with the Commonwealth to understand what our supply is going to look like every week."

There is no issue with the supply of second doses of the Pfizer vaccine, which thousands of Canberrans have already received.

The federal government is in charge of obtaining and distributing vaccine doses to the states and territories, which are then responsible for the rollouts in their jurisdictions. As well as specialised vaccine hubs, general practitioners are set to begin taking part in the vaccine rollout next week.

The federal government has faced significant criticism about the slow start to the vaccine rollout in Australia, but Ms Stephen-Smith didn't add her voice to that criticism, saying the federal government was facing a "very significant logistical and operational challenge".

"Safety is our number one priority. We're in a very strong position in Australia where we don't need to rush, we don't need to make emergency declarations in relation to vaccines," she said.

READ MORE:

Prime Minister Scott Morrison confirmed in question time on Tuesday that of the 3.8 million AstraZeneca vaccines contracted from overseas, only 700,000 had so far been provided due to supply issues and export blockages in Europe.

"But regardless of that point, Mr Speaker, we said, we said back in February, back in February, Mr Speaker, that we would be hitting around 80,000 a week in the early weeks," Mr Morrison said.

"Well, we already hit that mark in the early weeks."

Responding to claims some states have been stockpiling vaccines instead of administering them, chief medical officer Paul Kelly said until the first doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine manufactured in Melbourne were available, Australia was "completely [dependent] at the moment on overseas suppliers".

"We have done very well at securing supplies from Pfizer over the last month and we have confidence that that will continue," he said.

"As soon as we know when vaccines are arriving, we share that with the states; as soon as we know the numbers that are arriving, we share those with the states."

Professor Kelly confirmed the federal government was stockpiling doses of the Pfizer vaccine as a "strategic reserve" to ensure people who had their first dose of the vaccine were able to have their second dose three weeks later as recommended.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: