DANICA DE GIORGIO:
And more on that story now, the rollout of the vaccine in Australia will be brought forward to next month, with the Prime Minister saying the first groups are expected to receive a jab in mid to late February. Joining me now live is Professor Paul Kelly, Australia's Chief Medical Officer. Professor, the rollout is earlier than planned, which is good news; up to 1.5 million doses expected in the first phase. Take us through the timeline.
PAUL KELLY:
So the Prime Minister went through the timeline yesterday to make it very clear to the Australian public what's required. We've always said that we are in a very enviable situation here in Australia compared with many parts of the world, with very few coronavirus cases here domestically. So that's allowed us to go through the very detailed, very important safety checks, the effectiveness checks and the quality checks before we actually start this vaccination programme. So that's our TGA, the independent regulator, they'll be doing everything they need to do. And they have a lot of information so far about the Pfizer vaccine. They'll be getting the last of that information in the coming weeks. Then they'll be able to make that decision much more rapidly than usual, but not cutting any corners. Safety is our first priority here. After that, Pfizer has told us that within a couple of weeks, they'll have the vaccine here in Australia. A couple of extra quality checks then over the following week, then we'll be ready to go. So as soon as it's passed all of those quality, safety and effectiveness checks, the supply is here, we'll be ready to roll it out to Australians in those priority groups.
DANICA DE GIORGIO:
Now, it's been announced as a five phase plan. Who gets the first jabs and why?
PAUL KELLY:
So we've been talking about this for quite some time. Based on ATAGI, our advisory group on immunisation, they are really the experts in Australia on these matters and they've advised us two general principles. The first one is that we should be protecting those who are at most risk of being exposed to the virus. And when you think about that, who are the most at risk? It's the people working on the borders. We know there's a raging global pandemic going on around the world right now. So as people come to Australia, they're putting those Australians at risk. They'll be at the front of the queue. Others will be, of course, our frontline health care workers, aged care workers, disability care workers. They're the ones we want to protect from exposure.
The second general principle is those that are most vulnerable to severe illness. And so we know that's our elderly, particularly those in aged care facilities, residential aged care facilities, but also some disabled people, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, those with chronic disease. So that's essentially our priority first up. And then we work through other parts of the population with an absolute guarantee that anyone who wants to have a vaccination will get it for free before the end of the year.
DANICA DE GIORGIO:
You said that the vaccination is voluntary, but will you be looking at making it mandatory for some groups, particularly frontline health care workers?
PAUL KELLY:
So our general principle in the Federal Government is that it will be free, it will be available and it will be voluntary. Now, there may be some public health reasons, for example, where we really want to protect those most vulnerable members of the society. And so we'll be looking at ways that we can do that best. But the fundamental principle is free, available and mandatory. I'm sorry, not mandatory. Voluntary.
DANICA DE GIORGIO:
Not mandatory. And how much of the population, Professor, would need to be vaccinated before its effectiveness can be measured?
PAUL KELLY:
So we'll be looking to go as many as possible is the short answer to that. We know that there's this concept of herd immunity that we'd be wanting to get, of course, in Australia. And for that to be done, we will need to have at least two-thirds of the population vaccinated with the vaccine. But we're looking as many as possible and we really will be encouraging everyone to come forward and have that vaccination when that's available for you. So the key component, though, at the start is to decrease the exposure for those that are most at risk of being exposed and to limit the severity of those that are most vulnerable to the severe disease. They’re our first priorities, and then we'll work from there through the rest of the population.
DANICA DE GIORGIO:
And if this vaccine isn't for children, what percentage of adults would need to be vaccinated in order to achieve this herd immunity?
PAUL KELLY:
So children are in that you'd mentioned the five stages. So the very last stage would be children, if indeed the regulator says that that is reasonable to give the children. People need to realise that the studies so far have been concentrating on mostly healthy adults. And so that's where we'll have our data. There'll be other members of the community, including children, where we expect there will be further data later in the year, which would guide us as to whether that was safe and effective in those age groups. We know that children, for example, are not at high risk of this disease, either of contracting it, or indeed, having severe disease. So, they would be at the end of that priority group. I'd really point out that our priority at the beginning of this vaccine rollout is that protection from exposure, protection for vulnerable groups, not so much about the population coverage, that will come later in the year.
DANICA DE GIORGIO:
Professor, many Australians would be hoping for some sort of return to normalcy; is this the first step? How long will we have to wait until things can go back to normal in Australia?
PAUL KELLY:
So, the vaccine is a really important step. We were thinking this was going to be 18 months to two years before we even were starting to think about vaccines. Here we are, just on a year since we first heard about this virus emerging in the world and less than a year since the first cases occurred here in Australia. So we're well ahead of schedule for that. But it's not a magic bullet. It's part of that control mechanism. There'll be many things, unfortunately, I wish I could say we'd be turning off all of these other messages that we've had to have for the last year, but we will not be doing that initially. There will still be restrictions on travelling around. There will still be those messages about social distancing, about hand hygiene, about cough etiquette, about getting tested if you're sick. All of those things remain in place. And in fact, I believe some of those things will become normal practice in Australia, possibly for many years to come. But the vaccine is an important step. It will really help us with that control of the virus here in Australia, and indeed, the rest of the world. We need to remember this is a global pandemic. And anyone having this virus anywhere in the world is, you know, eventually we need to deal with that as well. We've made that commitment to our Pacific neighbours, in particular, and in our region about assisting them because we need to protect the whole world to protect the whole world.
DANICA DE GIORGIO:
Yeah absolutely. Well said. I want to ask you about the UK strain. We are already seeing it emerging in hotel quarantine here in Australia. National Cabinet will be meeting today to discuss the matter. How worried are you about this strain?
PAUL KELLY:
So the UK strain that's emerged over the last month or so, the AHPPC, the committee of experts and chief health officers that I chair have met every day actually over the last month, and this has come up as a topic of conversation. We put out a statement just before Christmas about the UK strain, and we've been examining the information as it's become available. What we know so far is it is more infectious. It's able to be transmitted from person to person more effectively. That makes control more difficult. And we're seeing what's happening in the UK in particular in relation to that virus now. So we'll be giving- we met again yesterday. There'll be an updated statement that will be going to the National Cabinet about the UK strain and in fact, about safety of air travel internationally as well as domestically in Australia. That's advice to National Cabinet. They will make those decisions. That's why a National Cabinet was formed, so that the Prime Minister and the first ministers of all the states and territories can make rapid decisions on the basis of what is emerging evidence, particularly around this virus. But other ranges of matters, of course, they talk about. But that's for them. I'll be in the room. I'll be advising them with that information and they'll make that decision- those decisions. The Prime Minister will have the usual press conference after that meeting.
DANICA DE GIORGIO:
Just finally, we are running out of time. But I want to ask you, Professor, is the COVID-Safe app still relevant to protect us from COVID or has QR codes, which are now mandatory in most parts of the company, is that our best defence for day by day protection?
PAUL KELLY:
Look, there's a range of things that we're doing. Our disease detectives are extraordinary in what they're using now to assist their work. I'm just thinking what was available to them a year ago and what's available now, its chalk and cheese. So the COVID-Safe app is part of those issues. It's one of the tools that they can use. But the QR codes are also exceptionally good. And so they use those, they use other things as well. I know that the New South Wales Chief Health Officer has talked often about the use of Opal cards and the like to assist with their contact tracing in relation to people that might have been exposed on public transport. So there's a range of things that are used; the COVID-Safe app is just one of those tools.
DANICA DE GIORGIO:
Professor Paul Kelly, I appreciate you joining us this morning and giving us all the up to date information.
PAUL KELLY:
You're welcome.
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