NEIL MITCHELL:
Lieutenant General John Frewen is Coordinator General of Australia's COVID-19 Taskforce and he is on the line. General, good morning.
JOHN FREWEN:
Morning Neil, how are you?
NEIL MITCHELL:
I'm okay. Thank for your time, and with apologies to the Apollo space program, has the Pfizer landed?
JOHN FREWEN:
[Laughter] We have- there's been two bits of good news this weekend. Over the weekend, we hit ten million doses have been administered to Australians which, you know, is really significant considering the program only started in late February, and then now we've got this arrival overnight of a million doses of Pfizer. That's about a tripling of where we were a fortnight ago and we're expecting a million doses a week at least now, out till the end of August. So that's a great fill up(*) to the program now.
NEIL MITCHELL:
What message are you getting about wastage? Because, we've got cases of people who are actually being approached on the street as the vaccination hubs close, there's the staff going, hey, we've got spare vaccine, anybody want it? They're worried about wasting it.
JOHN FREWEN:
Yeah. So, look, actual wastage is down below a per cent across the entire rollout, which is really good, so I think what's going on there is, because the vaccines come in multiple dose vials, and if they've opened a multiple dose vial then rather than not putting it to use, so I think it's important if there's an opportunity to get it in someone's arms, that happens.
NEIL MITCHELL:
So you've got no problem with them going out on the street and asking people if they want it?
JOHN FREWEN:
No, not if there is excess in vials. Normally it happens at the end of the day, then that's a good thing. But people can get booked into the system to turn up for their dosages and it's just one of those things that sometimes there are- there's spare doses left in vials at the end of a session.
NEIL MITCHELL:
Is- well, yeah, but that wouldn't- maybe that's explaining it. What about no shows? You've got a problem with no shows or not?
JOHN FREWEN:
Look, we're tracking- we're tracking, sort of, people overdue for doses. We haven't got a particular concern around no shows at the moment. The people who are a bit late for doses is very low, two and three per cent across the age cohort. So, we'll keep an eye on it, but this is the second time this has been mentioned this morning, but I'll need to understand the specifics better.
NEIL MITCHELL:
Okay. Is there any consideration being given to allowing Pfizer for the under 40s?
JOHN FREWEN:
Yeah, I've spoken to this. You know, we really still need to be focussed on the most vulnerable and the most vulnerable are the over 70s, particularly those in aged care, the frontline workers. We're having a particular effort right now to get the aged care workers vaccinated. So with what we've got at the moment, you know, the Pfizer needs to go to the priorities. We've got adequate AstraZeneca for everybody. So, right now for 40s, they can make informed choices about AstraZeneca, or they can wait until a bit later in the year when we may be able to offer choice more broadly. But, I've said on the record that it's unlikely to be before, you know, probably late September, early October at this stage.
NEIL MITCHELL:
Is there any consideration being given to reducing the 12 weeks between the doses of AstraZeneca? Given what's happening with the Delta…
JOHN FREWEN:
[Interrupts] Yeah, well, the ATAGI guidance has always said that dosage can be done between four and 12 weeks and people, again, are able to make a choice in consultation with their- you know, their GP's or other providers about getting that reduced dosage. And I think, you know, it's a risk benefit analysis process. So, you know, getting the full vaccination two dose is preferable to having first dose. So that's absolutely a viable thing at the moment.
NEIL MITCHELL:
Given the state with the- in Victoria, New South Wales, with the Delta outbreaks, is it a serious thing to consider, coming forward- because the 12 weeks is still recommended, if possible. Is it time to review that?
JOHN FREWEN:
Yeah. Well, 12 weeks is ideal but, you know, four weeks, the medical guidance is that four weeks gets you good, good coverage as well.
NEIL MITCHELL:
Are you confident every eligible Australian will be offered the first shot by the end of the year?
JOHN FREWEN:
With the- with the amount of supply we have coming and with the distribution networks that we will have in place, yes, Neil. I think every Australian who wants to have a vaccine by the end of this year should be able to. And I- I'm really pleased with how Australians have been coming forward to date. I'm certainly getting the sense that the vast majority of Australians intend to get vaccinated and that's really important to us as a nation to be able to get back to those freedoms that we all want to enjoy again.
NEIL MITCHELL:
Do you know yet when we'll have Moderna?
JOHN FREWEN:
Yeah. Look, it's, it's yet to be given it's, sort of, clearance, but we think we'll have it sort of, again, late September, early October at this stage. But it's to be confirmed.
NEIL MITCHELL:
And who will that be targeted at?
JOHN FREWEN:
Well, it's another mRNA vaccine, so it will- when we have two mRNA vaccines, it will be just another piece of the puzzle. But by that September, October stage, I think we will have enough of both mRNA vaccines and the AZ vaccines that we should be able to offer for choice then. At the moment, there is a plan to maybe push the mRNA- sorry, the Moderna into pharmacies, but we're now on a path to bring pharmacies into play a bit earlier than originally scheduled. We'll be bringing them in to play with AstraZeneca in the first instance, but whether we get more Pfizer earlier or whether we get Moderna then those vaccines will be available through pharmacies by the end of the year.
NEIL MITCHELL:
[Talks over] When? By- So, what's- How soon do you think you'll have the AstraZeneca into pharmacies?
JOHN FREWEN:
Well, we've got AstraZeneca coming through pharmacies already, and we're just working now to bring more pharmacies on more quickly. So, they're part of the web of making sure we've got adequate coverage across both metro and regional and remote areas as well.
NEIL MITCHELL:
Novavax is also looking promising. What orders do we have for Novavax?
JOHN FREWEN:
Yeah, we don't have orders at the moment. So our, our orders at the moment are on Pfizer, Moderna, and of course, we've got domestic production here on AstraZeneca.
NEIL MITCHELL:
Thank you very much for your time. I, I appreciate it. Did you ever think when you joined the Army, you'll be doing this?
JOHN FREWEN:
No, Neil. This was not on things they told me that at the, the recruiting office, but it's a really important job and I'm very pleased to be able to play a part in helping get our nation vaccinated.
NEIL MITCHELL:
I'm sorry, just want to ask a parochial question from the audience. How much of the new Pfizer that's arrived, the million doses, go to Victoria?
JOHN FREWEN:
Yeah, so the distribution is done on a per capita basis. So, it goes around the country. It's really important, you know, where outbreaks are the testing, tracing, isolation and lockdown sort of measures are the most immediate thing that can have an impact. Vaccination is important, sort of, more broadly, and getting the vaccination rates up across the whole country is, is what, ultimately, gets us to that, sort of, ability to, to you know, bring in those less restrictive measures that the Government have flagged in their pathway. So, it's important the rollout continues across the nation concurrently with the management of, of lockdowns.
NEIL MITCHELL:
Thank you so much for your time. All the best.
JOHN FREWEN:
Cheers, Neil. Ciao.
NEIL MITCHELL:
Lieutenant General John Frewen, Coordinator-General of Australia's COVID-19 Taskforce.
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