Australian GPs will begin administering the COVID-19 jab today as domestic manufacturing of the AstraZeneca vaccine was approved yesterday.
The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) granted approval for the AstraZeneca vaccine to be manufactured in
Australia after weeks of frustration over the slow rollout of imported doses.
More than six million people will be eligible to receive the vaccine from today under phase 1B of the rollout.
As many as 1000 GP clinics will begin the vaccinations for the most vulnerable community members, which includes elderly people and those with underlying medical conditions.
Deputy Chief Medical Officer Professor Michael Kidd admitted there were some delays to the vaccine rollout, including in NSW, where floods have ravaged towns.
“We do have some delays in the areas affected by the extreme weather, particularly in NSW,” he told Today.
“We have had practices where we haven’t been able to yet deliver the first doses of the vaccine because roads are closed and of course we have some practices which themselves have had to close.
“Obviously safety first is paramount at this time, so once it is safe and the roads are reopened, those deliveries will take place and people in those areas will be able to start getting their first doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine.”
The Australian-made doses of the vaccine will go through batch-testing and will start to be delivered to practices either late this week or early next week.
“Once CSL is online, they will be producing a million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine each week,” Professor Kidd said.
“So we hope that we will be able to ramp up the number of vaccines going out to again practices.”
About 250,000 doses will be delivered to 1000 general practices and more than 100 hundred general respiratory
practices in Australia.
“That will ramp up to well over 400,000 doses a week going out to 4500 general practices right across the country,” Professor Kidd said.