Australian Prime Minister seeks faster reopening after COVID-19 vaccine exchange with Britain

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  • Australia gets 4 million doses of Pfizer in Britain
  • The prime minister is calling on virus-free states to adhere to reopening plans
  • NSW reports record daily cases and deaths
  • COVID-free states reluctant to open borders

SYDNEY, Sept. 3 (Reuters) – Australia will receive an additional 4 million doses of Pfizer COVID-19 (PFE.N) vaccine this month after reaching an exchange agreement with Britain to help speed up its program vaccination amid a historic increase in infections.

The deal, announced on Friday by Prime Minister Scott Morrison, will double the availability of Pfizer vaccines this month, and the first shipment of vaccines from Britain is expected to arrive over the weekend.

On Friday, Australia recorded the largest one-day rise in COVID-19 infections, with 1,657 new cases and 13 deaths recorded in the last 24 hours.

“On a difficult day like this, it’s important to bring hope. And, I can assure you, there is hope,” Morrison told Canberra reporters.

“This will allow us to significantly present the opportunity for Australia to reopen.”

Australia agreed a similar trade agreement with Singapore earlier this week. Both offers will see Australia return Pfizer vaccines later in the year, when most of the Canberra order is delivered.

“Our agreement with Australia will share doses at the optimal time to strengthen our country’s vaccination programs,” British Health Secretary Sajid Javid said in an emailed statement.

A lone passenger wearing a protective mask walks from a deserted train platform on Flinders Street during the morning hours commuting on the first day of a closure while the state of Victoria wants to curb the spread of an outbreak of disease of coronavirus (COVID-19) in Melbourne, Australia, July 16, 2021. REUTERS / Sandra Sanders

LIVING WITH CVVID

The rise in infections could make it harder for Morrison to persuade the state and territories to remove blockades and restrictions on travel across state borders when 80% of his population over the age of 16 is fully vaccinated.

Most of the new cases were relocated to Sydney and New South Wales Prime Minister Gladys Berejiklian warned residents to prepare to increase the number in the next two weeks.

New South Wales and Victoria have warned people that they will now have to learn to live with COVID-19, although several other states have backtracked on their commitment to the national plan.

These states, free of COVID-19, argue that the current third wave of infections makes it too risky to go along with the national plan to reopen borders.

Ongoing restrictions threaten to drive the Australian $ 2 trillion ($ 1.5 trillion) economy into its second recession in so many years, and the disagreement over how to move forward will be a challenge for Morrison, who must convene elections before May 2022.

A total of almost 58,200 cases and 1,032 deaths have been reported in Australia since the pandemic began, far below many comparable countries, but the Delta outbreak has questioned whether it is appropriate to pursue elimination strategies.

(1 $ = 1.3472 Australian dollars)

Reports of Renju Jose; Edited by Stephen Coates, Michael Perry and Simon Cameron-Moore

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