Scott Morrison confident early wobbles with Australia's coronavirus vaccine rollout will be ironed out

Authorities are assuring Australians any issues with the coronavirus vaccine rollout will be dealt with quickly, after multiple issues in the first week.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison during Question Time in the House of Representatives at Parliament House in Canberra, Thursday, February 25, 2021. (AAP Image/Mick Tsikas) NO ARCHIVING

Prime Minister Scott Morrison during Question Time in the House of Representatives at Parliament House in Canberra, Thursday, February 25, 2021. Source: AAP

Early issues with Australia's coronavirus vaccine rollout are being ironed out as the federal government assures the public safety is paramount.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has implored families of aged care residents not to be anxious amid reports of vaccines being delayed and a bungle that saw two elderly people given incorrect doses.

Health authorities have had to dispose of up to 150 doses of the Pfizer vaccine which had been left at the wrong temperature in Victoria.

It's understood aged care residents at St Vincent's Care Services Werribee were vaccinated this week, with 25 vials of the vaccine left over.

Mr Morrison says logistical issues in the early phase of the rollout will be addressed quickly.

"I'm absolutely confident that as we go from day to day, the lessons of each day will only make the system better," he told reporters in Sydney on Friday.

"At all times, safety is the paramount issue."
Vaccinations are complete at about 90 aged care homes, with another 20 expected to be done on Friday.

Some 23,000 Australians have been vaccinated so far, including frontline healthcare workers and hotel quarantine staff.

The rollout has not occurred as quickly as the federal government promised.

Healthcare Australia - which has the federal government contract for the vaccination workforce in NSW and Queensland - has scaled back and slowed down its processes.
The company is in hot water with the government after two elderly nursing home residents in Brisbane were given too much of the vaccine by a doctor who had not completed mandatory jab training.

The 88-year-old and 94-year-old patients have shown no signs of adverse reactions.

Health Minister Greg Hunt says vaccinations at other nursing homes were pushed back as a result.

"Unfortunately, they notified people by email, 10.45 at night," he told 2GB radio.
Healthcare Australia is on notice its contract could be torn up if there are any more major problems.

Sonic Healthcare is now helping with the residential aged care vaccine rollout in NSW and Queensland.

Aspen Medical has the federal contract for the vaccination workforce in all other states and territories.

Therapeutic Goods Administration head John Skerritt says an investigation is looking into what happened with the 25 vials in Victoria.

"It's something that the team is looking at, whether there has been what we call a breach of cold chain," Professor Skerritt told ABC radio.
The Pfizer vaccine has six doses per vial and is stored at minus 70 degrees Celsius.

Logistics company DHL is transporting the doses across the country in portable freezers.

Mr Morrison flagged Pfizer was looking at changes to the vaccine's storage temperature, which is being considered by the TGA.

Victoria will soon ease mask rules and social gathering restrictions despite recording two new locally acquired cases of coronavirus. State health authorities confirmed the two cases are close contacts of pre-existing cases and have been in quarantine during their infectious period.

South Australia has lifted the last of its travel restrictions, clearing the way for people from Melbourne to enter the state from Friday with quarantine or testing.

Queensland will also reopen to Melbourne from 1am on Saturday.

Like this story? Here's where else you can find SBS News content and follow us:

SBS News website: Save our website sbs.com.au/news as a favourite. 

SBS News app: Download our app from Apple's App Store or Google Play and subscribe to the alerts.

SBS News newsletters: Get the latest delivered to your email inbox by subscribing here

Apple News: Follow the SBS News channel here on an Apple device.

Twitter: Follow us at twitter.com/SBSNews

Instagram: Follow us at instagram.com/sbsnews_au

YouTube: Subscribe at youtube.com/c/sbsnews

TikTok: Follow us at tiktok.com/@sbsnews_au

Reddit: Join us at reddit.com/r/sbsnewsau

SBS also publishes news in 68 languages online and on radio. Find your language at sbs.com.au/language.

You can also find stories from DatelineInsightThe Feed and NITV on their websites and social media platforms.





Share
4 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AAP, SBS


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world