Victoria records no new local COVID-19 cases as AstraZeneca made available to all - The Age

Victoria has recorded no new local cases of coronavirus for the third day in a row, after Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the AstraZeneca vaccine will be available to all Australians, regardless of their age.

From today, all Australians can walk into their general practices and request an AstraZeneca vaccine.

The AstraZeneca vaccine will now be available to all Australian adults.Credit:Eddie Jim

The prime minister announced the change after an emergency national cabinet meeting on Monday night, saying the Commonwealth will introduce a new no-fault vaccine injury indemnity scheme for GPs.

It will allow those who want an AstraZeneca vaccine to have that conversation with their doctor, including those under-40 not yet eligible for the Pfizer vaccine.

“If you wish to get the AstraZeneca vaccine, then we would encourage you to go and have that discussion with your GP,” Mr Morrison said, noting the expert medical advice was that the Pfizer vaccine was the preferred vaccine for people aged under 60.

Nearly 18,600 people in Victoria received their COVID-19 vaccine doses in the 24 hours to midnight on Monday, while more than 20,700 test results were processed in the past 24 hours.

Victoria recorded two new cases of coronavirus in hotel quarantine.

The AstraZeneca vaccine has been approved by Australia’s medical regulator for use in people aged 18 and over. The indemnity scheme applies for the duration of the pandemic and will be applied retrospectively to February 22 this year to cover the start of the vaccine program.

COVID-19 vaccines mandatory for aged care workers

National cabinet also agreed on Monday to make it mandatory for all aged care workers to have at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by September.

Mr Morrison said an $11 million grant would help pay for any leave needed for residential aged care staff to receive the vaccines.

“This has been a difficult cohort, a difficult group to get vaccinated,” he said on Monday evening.

“Imposing on a person the requirement to have a vaccine or not be able to work in a particular sector is something that no government would do lightly.”

National cabinet also agreed all quarantine workers needed to be vaccinated and regularly tested for COVID-19, and made testing and vaccinations available for household contacts of those workers.

More to come

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Victoria records no new local COVID-19 cases as AstraZeneca made available to all - The Age
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