Health Minister Mark Butler orders a fast-tracked review into existing vaccine deals and whether there needs to be any changes to current agreements to shore up Australia's future supplies.
Taking stock of the current vaccine contracts and supplies in the countryProviding advice about existing vaccine deals and arrangements and if there need to be any changes
Mr Butler said he made "no judgement" about the existing deals, and the focus was on making sure Australia could adapt to future developments of the disease and vaccines. "I have no reason to think that [the vaccine deals] aren't appropriate, but this is a fast-moving landscape, you know," he said.The Health Minister said that while he had not set a deadline for the review, he had made clear there was a level of urgency to it.
Australian Medical Association president Omar Khorshid said the organisation welcomed the review, adding it was essential to make sure the best treatments, such as Omicron-specific vaccines, were made available as quickly as possible in the future. "That's absolutely critical, that as soon as the new vaccines that are coming online are [shown to be] safe and effective … that we have access to them," he said.Watch
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