South Australians will be the first in the nation to get the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine option.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has confirmed the batches that arrived from overseas recently have been tested and given the tick of approval.

Subscribe for FREE to the HealthTimes magazine


They are being distributed to the states, with SA to be the first on Friday.

"What will follow that is, ultimately, the approval of the manufacturing process here in Australia for the AstraZeneca vaccine,"
Mr Morrison told reporters in the NSW Hunter region on Thursday.

"Which will launch the next very significant phase of the home-grown vaccination of Australians for COVID-19."
FEATURED JOBS


Pharmaceutical giant CSL will locally manufacture 50 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which most Australians will receive.

It comes as state and territory leaders finalise their agendas as they prepare to meet with Mr Morrison on Friday.

The meeting comes towards the end of the second week of the nation's coronavirus vaccine rollout, which is going slower than promised in most areas across the country.

The federal government says it will ramp up in coming weeks.
But NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian is concerned that her government has been left in the dark on key aspects of the rollout, including which aged care homes in her state have had vaccinations.

She hasn't been told how many residents have been vaccinated.
"It would help us enormously if we knew which aged care facilities had received the vaccine," Ms Berejiklian told reporters in Sydney on Wednesday.

The NSW government also wasn't given prior warning to a federal announcement about Defence personnel helping the aged care vaccine rollout from next week.
NSW authorities are concerned that elderly residents may be stressed about when they will receive the vaccine.

Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt last week conceded a company responsible for the federal government's portion of the rollout was alerting people late at night their jabs would be delayed, after it bungled doses in the first week.

Two elderly residents at a Brisbane aged care home were given about four times the intended dose, by a doctor who had not completed mandatory vaccine training.
The elderly pair have not shown signs of an adverse reaction.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk was furious, calling on the federal government to provide more details on the aged care vaccine rollout.

The Sunshine State is also annoyed at federal authorities over plans for a regional COVID-19 quarantine camp.

The Wagner Group wants to build a facility, which would host up to 1000 travellers and 300 staff, at Wellcamp Airport near Toowoomba.

The federal government is refusing to support it without detailed information, and the Queensland government says it's unable to provide more detailed information without in-principle support.

Two people have tested positive for the Russian strain of COVID-19 in Brisbane quarantine hotels, with another 75 guests now being tested for the virus.

The Victorian government has extended its emergency powers for another nine months, insisting it will be the last time.

The powers provide the legal framework for public health measures during the pandemic, such as hotel quarantine, home isolation, mask-wearing and the state's travel permit system.

Comments

COMPANY

CONNECT