Australia excludes Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine from national rollout
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Teachers and school employees in Wylie, Texas, receive a COVID-19 vaccine on March 26. File photo by Ian Halperin/UPI | License Photo
April 12 (UPI) Johnson & Johnson s one-dose COVID-19 vaccine won t be included in Australia s national rollout due to its similarities to the AstraZeneca vaccine, government health officials said Monday.
A spokesperson for Australian Health Minister Greg Hunt told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. and The Guardian the federal government will not be moving ahead with potential purchases of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, at least for now.
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The move is being made because, like the AstraZeneca product, it is an adenovirus vaccine in which a deactivated virus is used to produce a desired immune response.
CANBERRA (BLOOMBERG) - Australian Trade Minister Dan Tehan will travel for face-to-face talks with ministerial counterparts in Germany, France and Brussels from Thursday (April 15), after the European Union restricted exports of Covid-19 vaccines.
The talks will address the supply of EU-produced Covid-19 vaccines that Australia has contracted and how we can work with the EU to enhance the global supply of vaccines , Mr Tehan said in an emailed statement.
He will also meet with European Commission Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis and UK Secretary of State for International Trade Liz Truss to progress free-trade agreement negotiations.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who originally pledged that all Australians would receive a first vaccine dose by October, said on Sunday that he won t set a new target date due to health concerns about AstraZeneca s shot and European export restrictions.
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2021-04-07 07:00:54 GMT2021-04-07 15:00:54(Beijing Time) Sina English
AFP
Anne Hyslop (right) speaks with practice nurse Youri Park (center) after receiving an AstraZeneca vaccine while Australian Health Minister Greg Hunt looks on in Melbourne on April 7.
Australia s Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Wednesday blamed restricted vaccine supply from Europe for his country s halting coronavirus inoculation efforts, as he faced growing public frustration over the sluggish rollout.
Scott Morrison said vaccine shortages and strict export controls introduced by the European Commission meant Australia received just 700,000 of a contracted 3.8 million doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine.
His government, which received global praise for successfully containing Australia s coronavirus outbreak, has fallen far behind its schedule for vaccinating people.
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