CLINT STANAWAY:
Okay, returning to our stop story now and those major changes to Australia's Omicron battle plan. Lots of recommendations from National Cabinet but no big decisions.
JAYNE AZZOPARDI:
Let's bring in Lieutenant General John Frewen who heads the COVID Vaccination Taskforce, and he joins us now from Canberra. Thanks for your company this morning. First up, let's talk about booster shots. No decision on that from National Cabinet yesterday, leaving it up to ATAGI. Do you think they should be brought forward?
JOHN FREWEN:
Look, that's- the duration is a medical concern, so we really need the expert medical advice on that. So, we adapted really quickly from the decision to shift the recommendation from six months to five months, and we stand ready to adapt again as quickly as we have to if there is the health advice that suggests that's the right thing to do.
CLINT STANAWAY:
What about those huge testing queues we're seeing across the country? Would you like to see Queensland and other states sort of scrap those entry requirements?
JOHN FREWEN:
Look, I am very much focused on vaccinations. I think there were good discussions around that yesterday that the PM and others have spoken on. You know, right now, we're really most concerned about getting people either their first dose of vaccinations, being ready for five to 11-year-olds to get a first dose before they get back to school next year, and getting people opportunity for boosters, and pleasingly, we've been getting boosters done in record numbers over the last couple of weeks. We've had almost 2 million people now get their boosters, so we're just going to keep hard at that.
JAYNE AZZOPARDI:
Speaking of those boosters, we had the Vice- President of the AMA on the show yesterday. He was saying that even under the current requirements there are still millions of people currently eligible for boosters that haven't been able to get them. If we shifted that timeline forward, there would be millions and millions more people and he said, quote, that this is simply beyond us to give that many people booster shots. Are we really prepared for this?
JOHN FREWEN:
Yeah, so, look, there are three things at the moment. Supply is not a concern this time around. We've got almost 20 million doses of mRNA here in the country. Five million of those are already on shelves in GPs and pharmacists and state clinics. We're working on delivering orders that have been put in place before Christmas and into January, so the vaccines themselves aren't the concern. Now, the distribution network is very expansive and complex - of course, it's Christmas and New Year, but we have got the doses out there. We have got a system in place where if one facility runs out that we can let them know where there is another facility that have got stuff on shelves and help connect them or either move that stuff quickly, so it's big and complex. The workforce is another thing. Right now, it's only about a week or so ago that ATAGI went from six months to five months. In that time, nationally, we've gone from 500,000 doses a day to more than a million doses a day, so that's been an amazing response from this health workforce who have worked extremely hard all year. We know in the New Year we're going to have to get back up to probably 2 million- more than 2 million doses a week. Yesterday, National Cabinet, the states and territories, all agreed to help ramp their state clinics back up because we are going to need them at full flight again in the New Year. So we're putting everything in place. It's going to be a big effort but we've been in this place before, and I think this time around, you know, we have learnt a lot and I think we will be in a really great position, and we're going to get the five to 11-year-olds rolling from 10 January, and then we'll be getting as many boosters done as we can at the same time.
CLINT STANAWAY:
In terms of the boosters, there doesn't seem to be that- any hesitancy really at all. What sort of reaction are you getting from, or what sense of reaction are you getting from Aussies?
JOHN FREWEN:
Yeah, look, it's been an amazing response. We're at more than 90 per cent fully vaccinated across the nation. Of course, there are still some pockets that are a little bit behind that, and we're working hard to catch them up as well. But, you know, we are one of the most vaccinated countries in the world now. This coronavirus keeps throwing curveballs, you know, Omicron is just another one. The health advice is that the boosters are important and I'm seeing nothing but enthusiasm around people getting their boosters. You know, lots of people are talking to me about- that they've either had it, they've got their bookings in place to get it done, or they're waiting for the advice to see whether they might be able to get done a bit quicker. So, I think there is going to be great uptake. We're seeing that in these record numbers, you know, almost 2 million people who have already had it done just in the last couple of weeks, and we're working really hard to put all of the systems in place that will get as many of us done in the New Year as possible.
JAYNE AZZOPARDI:
Logistically, how long do you think it will take to get those mass vaccination hubs that were closed down or scaled back - how long will it take to get them back up to performing at the level you want them to be performing?
JOHN FREWEN:
Yeah, well, look, some of the states and territories, they're still in place. For example, you know, WA and Queensland are still driving very hard at getting their fully dosed rate up, so they're in place. New South Wales, Victoria, you know, there was some winding back there because demand had started to wane. But now with boosters they're committed to coming back into play in a big way. We'll be working really closely with them to get those in place as soon as we can in early January.
CLINT STANAWAY:
We're seeing a country like Israel now an uptake of a fourth booster shot. I mean, do you think that's a reality for Australians?
JOHN FREWEN:
Yeah, look, again, we take the medical advice. I think, you know, one of the real strengths of Australia's approach through this has been to put medical advice at the forefront. You know, I'm in the rolling the vaccines out game, but we do that with the parameters set by the health experts. You know, right now, ATAGI are most focused on what the right duration is between this booster shot, or third dose if you like. You know, we watch carefully what happens overseas, but there's very different contexts in overseas. You know, some of them are in winter or coming into winter. That puts a different pressure on them. You know, some of them got the waves ahead of the rest of the world, but- and we've been fortunate that we've been able to watch how that's played out, and to get the medical data, and it's that sort of medical data that comes from overseas that helps ATAGI make the right decisions.
JAYNE AZZOPARDI:
Alright. Lieutenant General Frewen, thank you for your time this morning.
Contact
