PM’s vax rollout overhaul

AUSTRALIA’S leaders will meet twice a week until the vaccine rollout is “back on track”, as Scott Morrison concedes the program is too slow and in need of an overhaul at every level.

The Prime Minister says there are “serious challenges” he and state leaders needed to work together to address after he last week dumped all vaccine rollout targets.

The leaders meet on Monday for the first of emergency meetings that will continue for the “foreseeable future”.

“I have requested national cabinet and our health ministers move back to an operational footing – to work together, closely, to tackle, head-on, the challenges we are all facing with making our vaccination program as good as it can be,” Mr Morrison said. “We are throwing everything at these issues, uniting the nation to keep the vaccination program safe, to get the rollout right, and to be open and transparent about how we are tracking.”

Australia’s vaccine rollout was further thrown into disarray last week when new advice saw the only locally made vaccine – AstraZeneca – largely ruled out for under 50s due to concerns at a rare blood clotting condition that has so far presented in two Australians.

With the mRNA Pfizer vaccine now the only approved vaccine available for younger Australians, the Federal Government is looking into developing onshore manufacturing capacity of vaccines of its type.

Newly appointed Industry Minister Christian Porter confirmed the government was working to scale up current vaccine manufacturing facilities for mRNA jabs.

“An audit identified companies based within Australia with mRNA production capability,” a spokesman for the Minister said. “The government is working with those organisations to explore whether that capability could be scaled up into the future,