Trent Zimmerman (North Sydney, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

[by video link] My question is to the Prime Minister. Will the Prime Minister outline to the House how those on the front line delivering COVID-19 vaccines and doing the essential work of transporting, distributing and administering them across the country are helping to arm Australians against the virus so we can chart our way back from the COVID-19 pandemic?

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for North Sydney for his question. To all those members who have had to remain in their electorates, including the member for North Sydney: thank you for the work that you're doing. I was talking to the member for Bennelong last night, working in his community as well. It's very important that we keep connecting Australians, particularly those who are going through lockdowns, whether now here in the ACT or in New South Wales or in Victoria, to the services and the support that is available to help them.

This week one-quarter of all eligible Australians will be fully vaccinated, and next week one in two eligible Australians will have had their first dose. Yesterday was another record day: 262,314 doses were administered in Australia yesterday, with more than 100,000 of those doses in New South Wales and two-thirds of those delivered through the GP network that is doing such an incredible job as the vaccination program continues to go forward and gather pace.

Per capita, yesterday's result is equivalent to one of the top 10 days that the UK would have had across their entire vaccination program. This demonstrates that this program has overcome early difficulties to ensure that this program is on track. I want to congratulate Lieutenant General Frewen. I want to congratulate all of those at the health department: Professor Murphy, the Minister for Health and all of those who've worked together to turn this around, to overcome the early setbacks, which we've been very clear about, and to get this program back on track. As I said this week, it's not how you start the race, it's how you finish the race that counts. That is how we are approaching this task.

There are many others we must congratulate. Anthony Vass, a pharmacist out there running three Sydney pharmacy practices, is running night vaccination sessions at each one, and they're staying open until midnight to do that every night. Thank you to Anthony Vass. At Wentworth Healthcare in the Blue Mountains, in the Nepean region, they put a call out to local registered nurses and, in just three days, over 150 nurses answered that call. Down in Higgins, at the Star Health practices, they have delivered 35,000 vaccine doses; and, at the city medical practice of Dr Sabrina Saldanha, they're doing 700 doses a week. Jodie Lyons is an electorate officer in the member for Wentworth's electorate, a nurse by training, who stepped up by qualifying to deliver COVID vaccines and is now doing two days a week at St Vincent's Hospital vaccine hub. Australians working together to get the country vaccinated, saving lives and saving livelihoods: thank you.