Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Bragg for the question. I'm pleased, obviously, to update the Senate that the Morrison government welcomes the emergency approval given to the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine in the United Kingdom. This is particularly so, given the over 1.6 million cases and the tragic loss of over 59,000 lives in the United Kingdom. This emergency approval is not a full public authorisation; however, it does allow the United Kingdom government to deploy the vaccine as quickly as possible to specific groups of patients, such as frontline healthcare workers, people over the age of 80 and aged-care residents. This emergency authorisation is in response to the very high disease load in the United Kingdom at present. It is understood that, under the emergency use authorisation, the vaccine will not be generally available to the wider United Kingdom population.

In terms of Australia, Pfizer continues to work with the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration, providing data for safety and efficacy as part of the approval process. Our advice remains that the time line for a decision on approval is expected by the end of January 2021, and our planning is for the first vaccine delivery in March 2021. Pfizer's, of course, is one of four vaccines the Australian government has purchased, for a total projected supply of around 134.8 million units. In addition, we will have access to up to 25.5 million units under the international Covax Facility. Safety is of course our No. 1 priority, and Australia is well placed for a thorough but rapid safety assessment and an early rollout of a free, voluntary but universally available COVID-19 vaccine program.