Katie Allen (Higgins, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Health and Aged Care. Will the minister please update the House on how Australia is supporting our Pacific neighbours in the battle against COVID-19 as well as how international and domestic vaccine developments are helping to protect Australian lives and livelihoods?

Greg Hunt (Flinders, Liberal Party, Minister for Health and Aged Care) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Higgins not just for her question but for her service to the Australian people through her medical work over many years and many decades. Sadly, as the COVID-19 pandemic has continued, having improved over recent months it has deteriorated in recent weeks. There have been 486,000 cases in the last 24 hours, 7,500 lives lost, over 2.7 million lives lost in all—and those are just the official figures. At the same time we have been blessed in Australia to have zero cases of community transmission for the 51st day this year—an extraordinary result.

As we look to our near neighbours in Papua New Guinea, we see there have been almost 400 recorded cases in the last 24 hours. As a consequence, Australia is stepping in and stepping up to assist our neighbours. The AUSMAT team has been dispatched today with almost 8,500 vaccines as well as consumables to support that rollout, to assist the health workers of PNG. There's more to come, from the National Medical Stockpile and from our international inventories of vaccines, as we push to have those released.

At the same time as that action with PNG has been taken, there's also been very important news for the world. The AstraZeneca clinical trial results were released overnight, showing, among over 32,000 patients, 100 per cent effectiveness against serious illness, hospitalisation or loss of life. That is an extraordinary result, which should lead to a great deal of confidence not just here in Australia but around the world. These vaccines are literally saving and protecting lives, and we are fortunate to have that access to 50 million domestically produced, Australian made—CSL produced—AstraZeneca vaccines.

Over the last 24 hours we've seen a 10 per cent growth in our entire national vaccination rate, to now over 312,000 vaccinations having occurred in Australia, including 62,000 within our aged-care sector—634 aged-care facilities with first doses and 110 aged-care facilities with second doses. People around the country have been putting themselves forward, and general practices around the country have been participating in the program. I want to thank all those who've come forward to be engaged, all those who have participated in this program. What we are seeing now is action that will save lives both here in Australia and across the waters in PNG.