The Australian Medical Association’s (AMA) president Omar Khorshid says the federal government’s goal of vaccinating the entire population by October is looking challenging, and the end of the year is looking more realistic.
The federal government has already fallen well short of its target of vaccinating 60,000 people by the end of February, with only 33,700 people receiving the jab (see below table). The new figures show that about 75% of available Pfizer doses were administered in New South Wales during the first week of the vaccine rollout, compared with just 30% in Victoria and 22% in Queensland. However, the government expects to ramp up the vaccine rollout in coming weeks.
The tardy roll-out in Victoria is especially concerning given its repeated failures in managing hotel quarantine and its propensity to shut down the state.
