Coronavirus vaccines are being rolled out across Australia in what experts says marks the start of the “final phase of the pandemic”. Those at the highest risk of infection, including quarantine and health hotel workers, frontline health staff and airport and port workers, were the first to receive it on Monday. Epidemiologist with Victoria’s La Trobe University, Associate Prof Hassan Vally, described the rollout as “Australia’s official entry.
On Monday 100 Queenslanders will be participating in the first phase of the Pfizer vaccine at the Gold Coast University Hospital.
About 5,000 vials were sent up to Cairns where there will be two vaccination hubs in far north Queensland and another 5,000 were brought down to the South East Coast to be distributed among four vaccination hubs.
Queensland’s Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young has said she will be lining up to receive the vaccine.
Quarantine, frontline health and airport workers among first to receive vaccine, which experts say will reduce virus escapes from hotels and protect vulnerable populations if it does
Australia Begins CCP Virus Vaccine Rollout
Australia began rolling out vaccinations against the CCP virus on Monday, after a soft launch on Sunday, saw some frontline workers and the elderly, along with Prime Minister Scott Morrison, receive the Pfizer jab one day ahead of schedule.
Aged care resident Jane Malysiak, 84, from Marayong in New South Wales (NSW), was the first person in Australia to receive the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine on Sunday.
Morrison said it was a “landmark day” for Australia amid the pandemic.
“We have always made our own Australian way through this pandemic and have done so with considerable success compared with so many other countries around the world,” he said. “This vaccination program launches us down our path out of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021.”