Government communications with Pfizer reveal the Health Minister's office didn't meet with the company until weeks after other countries had started signing deals, despite Pfizer's requests.
The Health Minister's office didn't meet Pfizer executives until a fortnight after the USA and UK had already signed supply deals for COVID-19 vaccines, despite the pharmaceutical giant repeatedly advising the federal government to show urgency.
The company offered to make senior members of its "global leadership team available" for the discussion if the Health Minister "and/or departmental leadership" could be involved. Three days later, a health department official responded to Pfizer's email, saying it had been passed onto Health Minister Greg Hunt, but that she would meet with the company.Pfizer offered a highly detailed briefing from its European colleagues overseeing development of the mRNA vaccine but only if the Health Department signed a confidentiality agreement beforehand.
Pfizer sent another email to the Health Department on July 23 alerting officials "to recent news of Pfizer's agreements with the UK and the US on vaccine supply" that had been signed on July 20 and July 22 respectively.
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