UK deal a booster shot in Oz vaccination drive
PRIME Minister Scott Morrison has announced that Australia will receive four million additional doses of the Pfizer vaccine after signing a major deal with the UK.
Speaking at a press conference on Friday, Mr Morrison said the doses would arrive in Australia this month.
“There are four million reasons to be hopeful today,” he said. “Because the government has been able to secure, with the government of the United Kingdom, a Pfizer swap deal which will see four
million doses of Pfizer come to Australia this month.”
Mr Morrison said the first batch of the additional doses would arrive on Saturday.
“The plane is on the tarmac now,” he said.
The rest of the additional doses will arrive in the coming weeks.
“This will see us double the Pfizer doses that we have during September,” Mr Morrison said.
The PM expressed gratitude to UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson for agreeing to send the extra doses to Australian shores.
“I want to thank (Mr Johnson) for his personal commitment to this and his great friendship with Australia,” Mr Morrison said.
“There’s been some very late-night discussions and negotiations and legal work taking place, especially over the course of the past week, to bring this to conclusion, but it has been a real commitment to Australia from Prime Minister Johnson.”
The four million new doses will be distributed to states and territories on a per capita basis across GP clinics, pharmacies and state vaccination hubs.
“This will enable us to bring forward significantly the opportunity for Australia to open up again under the national plan,” Mr Morrison said.
Mr Morrison said it was a good deal “between mates” because of Australia’s urgent need for vaccines now, while the UK needed booster doses later.
“This is a good deal from Britain and a good deal for Australia. And it is a good deal because it makes the most of the doses that they have now, which we need, and the doses that we will have later that they will need.” Mr Morrison said.
“This supports their program when it comes to boosters and other things of that nature, and it supports our program now.”