The Australian government has secured an additional 20 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine as it steers away from relying on the AstraZeneca vaccine after a rare but serious blood clotting side effect was discovered.
The additional doses, scheduled to arrive in the fourth quarter of the year, means Australia will receive a total of 40 million Pfizer doses.
Australian drug regulators held emergency meetings following the findings and concluded AstraZeneca was not suitable for people under 50 years.
Morrison said the new advice about AstraZeneca was not a directive not to take the vaccine but was to advise people to make the decision in consultation with their GPs.
The changed advice is likely to delay the original plans to have everybody vaccinated by October of this year.
Australia had originally planned to manufacture around 50 million doses of AstraZeneca locally, however, it will now need to rely on imported vaccines.
Former Australian Chief Medical Officer Prof. Brendon Murphy warned that all vaccines had possible adverse effects, including the Pfizer vaccine which has a risk of anaphylaxis.
Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt said the majority of the rollout program remains largely unchanged, as the current phase of vaccinations revolves around immunising the elderly and front line health workers.
Hunt highlighted that Australia was in a different position to the rest of the world, with almost no community transmissions compared to other countries.
AstraZeneca said it respected the Australian government’s decision to change the advice for its vaccine.
