SYDNEY, April 14 (Reuters) – Australia’s national cabinet will begin meeting twice a week on Monday, marking a return to a “war foot” in the country’s battle against the US pandemic. coronavirus amid the turmoil of its national vaccination program.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Wednesday it was necessary to return to more frequent meetings of the group of federal and state government leaders to address “serious challenges” caused by irregular international vaccine supplies and the change of medical advice.
“This is a complex task and there are issues with the program that we need to address to ensure that more Australians can be vaccinated more safely and quickly,” Morrison said in a statement.
Australia has fared much better than many other developed countries during the pandemic, with just over 29,400 cases of COVID-19 and 910 deaths.
No new cases have been reported most days this year and officials have quickly contained small outbreaks, but the country’s vaccination program has hit significant barriers.
Morrison earlier this week abandoned the goal of providing at least one dose of vaccine to about 26 million people in the country by the end of the year after restricting the launch of his favorite AstraZeneca vaccine.
The findings of the European drug regulator on rare cases of blood clots among some adult recipients of the AstraZeneca vaccine were a major blow to Australia, as the country had based its vaccination action mainly on this inoculation, with plans to manufacture 50 million doses locally.
Australian officials revised the program in response, doubling a previous Pfizer order to 40 million shots and restricting AstraZeneca doses to people under 50.
The deployment has also been affected by export restrictions imposed by the European Union on vaccines, as the bloc seeks to bolster its own supplies.
Commerce Minister Dan Tehan will have to travel to Europe this week to seek the release of some 3 million doses of previously promised AstraZeneca vaccines.
Morrison set up a national cabinet of federal, state and territorial leaders early last year to coordinate pandemic measures. In recent weeks, there has been a rift between different levels of government over who is responsible for delays in vaccine deployment.
Returning to meetings twice a week, the same frequency as at the height of last year’s crisis, would continue for the “predictable future,” Morrison said, without providing details on possible steps to take.
Reports of Renju Jose; edited by Jane Wardell