Source::Xinhua
CANBERRA
The Australian government has reaffirmed its commitment to vaccinating the entire population against COVID-19 by the end of October. Minister for Health Greg Hunt said on Friday that every Australian who wants a coronavirus vaccine would still receive at least their first dose by October despite the rollout facing delays.
"Our goal remains for first doses for all Australians that seek it by the end of October," he told Sky News Australia. Premier of New South Wales, Gladys Berejiklia, said on Thursday that the state was not on track to vaccinate its 6 million residents by October. The federal government has faced criticism for the slow start to the vaccination program. As of Thursday, approximately 230,000 Australians had received vaccines. On Friday the head of the Australian Medical Association, Omar Khorshid, said that expectations for the rollout should have been better managed.
Some general practitioners who have been enlisted to administer vaccines have expressed frustration with the government's lack of communication around the availability of doses and with the online vaccination booking system. Hunt said that supply issues would fall by the wayside when domestic production of AstraZeneca's vaccine by biotechnology company CSL ramps-up in the coming weeks.
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