Clare O'Neil (Hotham, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Senior Australians and Aged Care Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

[by video link] My question is to the minister for health. The government announced that aged-care residents would be fully vaccinated by Easter, but it was revealed in Senate estimates today that there are still 21 aged-care facilities around Australia where residents haven't received their first dose and another 600 aged-care facilities where residents are still waiting for their second dose. Why is the government so far behind on its own announcement?

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

As I've indicated, at this point in time the Commonwealth is proceeding. We have delivered first doses in 100 per cent of facilities in Victoria, Tasmania, the ACT and the Northern Territory, and 99 per cent in the other states. That process has seen, to this point in time, if I may say, 272,000 doses to residents around the country. Within Victoria, we've seen, to this point in time, over 25,319 completions of first and second doses and 12,873 completions of first doses. That's approximately 86 per cent of residents who have consented. We do note that this is a program where consent by individual residents or their families is important. And that is occurring around the country. So we have, as noted already, completed, prior to yesterday, all but 20—not 21, on the latest advice that I had, coming into question time. It is expected that 15 more, if not up to 17, will be done over today and tomorrow, and that would mean the remaining five to three will be completed when those facilities have been able to accept—due to their circumstances, such as a gastro outbreak—the final visit. That visit will mean that, at that point, 100 per cent of facilities in Commonwealth residential aged care around the country will have had first doses, with the remaining to be done within a three-week period—the second doses.