CANBERRA, Australia (AP) – Australia said on Friday it had finalized an agreement to buy an additional 20 million doses of Pfizer vaccine as it quickly moved away from its previous plan to rely primarily on the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the agreement hours after Australia said it would stop using the AstraZeneca vaccine for people under the age of 50.
He said the deal means Australia will receive a total of 40 million doses of Pfizer vaccine by the end of the year, enough to inoculate 20 million people in the nation’s 26 million.
Australia’s pivot came after the European Medicines Agency said this week it had found a “possible link” between the AstraZeneca vaccine and rare blood clots, although UK and EU regulators said the benefits of vaccine administration continue to outweigh risks for most people.
Following the European Agency’s statement, Australian drug regulators held a series of urgent meetings on Thursday and recommended that the Pfizer vaccine become the preferred vaccine for people under 50.
Morrison said there is no ban on the AstraZeneca vaccine, and the risk of side effects is removed. He said the change was made out of an abundance of caution.
The pivot represents a significant change in Australia’s overall approach and is likely to delay plans to have everyone inoculated by October.
A major part of Australia’s strategy has been the ability to make its own vaccines at home and not rely on overseas transport. He had planned to produce about 50 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine, enough for 25 million people. Australia had no plans to make other vaccines at home.
Even before the change, the government faced criticism for a launch program that lags behind those in most other developed countries. To date, Australia has administered just over 1 million doses of vaccine.
Opposition leader Anthony Albanese said the launch was a disaster and Australians need certainty about when they will be vaccinated.
“This government has failed. This government could not drive a choko vine on a back fence, “Albanese told reporters, referring to a plant that produces pear-shaped fruit and grows easily in the Australian climate.
Health Minister Greg Hunt said there would be some changes, but everyone would be kept safe and vaccinated.
Australia has managed to eliminate the spread of the virus community, allowing life to continue as it did before the pandemic.
AstraZeneca noted that Australia’s decision to restrict the use of the vaccine was based on the fact that it had no Community transmission.
“Overall, regulators have reaffirmed that the vaccine provides a high level of protection against all severities of COVID-19 and that these benefits continue to far outweigh the risks,” the company said in a statement.