Australia plays down Italy vaccine blockade
Thursday, March 04, 2021
|
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australia on Friday played down the impact of Italy's landmark decision to block the export of 250,000 COVID vaccine doses due to be delivered Down Under.
A spokesperson for the Australian ministry of health told AFP the shipment of AstraZeneca vaccine from Italy was "not factored into our distribution plan for coming weeks".
Italy's export ban was blamed on a shortage of vaccines in virus-hit Europe and the lack of urgent need in relatively virus-free Australia.
But the decision has rekindled accusations of "vaccine nationalism" and fears Australia's roll out plans could be derailed — something Canberra officials were keen to play down.
"This is one shipment from one country," the spokesperson told AFP.
Australia has already received a delivery of 300,000 AstraZeneca vaccine doses and the first of them are due to be administered on Friday, to frontline staff in South Australia.
That batch, along with supplies of the Pfizer vaccine, is expected to last until domestic production of the AstraZeneca is scaled up.
"Domestic production starts with one million (doses) per week of deliveries from late March and is on track" the spokesperson said.
Rival pharmaceutical company CSL is producing AstraZeneca's vaccine in Australia after its own vaccine candidate did not conclude trials.
Around 50 million doses are expected to be produced locally.
Australia had approved vaccines later than most countries, but aims to have the vast majority of the adult population vaccinated by October this year.
Australia's total population is around 25 million people.
The country has seen around 25,000 virus cases since the pandemic began and around 900 deaths.
Now you can read the Jamaica Observer ePaper anytime, anywhere. The Jamaica Observer ePaper is available to you at home or at work, and is the same edition as the printed copy available at https://bit.ly/epaper-login
ADVERTISEMENT
POST A COMMENT
HOUSE RULES
- We welcome reader comments on the top stories of the day. Some comments may be republished on the website or in the newspaper; email addresses will not be published.
- Please understand that comments are moderated and it is not always possible to publish all that have been submitted. We will, however, try to publish comments that are representative of all received.
- We ask that comments are civil and free of libellous or hateful material. Also please stick to the topic under discussion.
- Please do not write in block capitals since this makes your comment hard to read.
- Please don't use the comments to advertise. However, our advertising department can be more than accommodating if emailed: advertising@jamaicaobserver.com.
- If readers wish to report offensive comments, suggest a correction or share a story then please email: community@jamaicaobserver.com.
- Lastly, read our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy