Victoria has recorded one new local coronavirus case at the weekend and eight cases in hotel quarantine. The local case is a primary close contact which has already been linked to the current outbreak which sparked a recent statewide lockdown.
The nation’s leaders meet to discuss the troubled vaccination rollout following last week’s decision to limit the AstraZeneca shot to over-60s.
More than 16,000 coronavirus test results were received in the 24 hours to midnight on Sunday.
Vaccination experts are worried that the reputation of the AstraZeneca jab has been tarnished with Australians dangerously exposed,
Victoria’s Health Minister Martin Foley said he would raise vaccine supply at Monday’s meeting and push for the Commonwealth to treat the rollout as a race, while Acting Premier James Merlino took a swipe at the delayd rollout of the country’s vaccination program. Mr Merlino criticised the federal government for not securing enough doses to meet demand.
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Victoria was receiving about 71,000 Pfizer doses of vaccine each week, which temporarily increased to 105,000 doses following the latest COVID-19 outbreak which lead to the state’s fourth rollout.
The Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences are to begin clinical trials of a locally produced mRNA vaccine by November and have results by mid-2022.
Mr Merlino today said the government was investing $5 million to manufacture doses of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine for trials, which are due to start in the coming months.
“This is an incredibly important, incredibly exciting step that we are making in our nation,” Mr Merlino said.
“This will get us on a pathway to local manufacturing capability.”
