Richard Colbeck (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Senior Australians and Aged Care Services) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Fawcett, for your question. It has been an important week for all Australians. We are now into day 4 of the mass vaccine rollout across the country. We are prioritising the most vulnerable in society, as we should, to receive the vaccine first. Aged-care residents, border, quarantine and frontline health workers have the opportunity to have their first dose of the vaccine this week. Both the Pfizer-BioNTech and the AstraZeneca vaccines require two separate doses for a person to be fully immunised: Pfizer-BioNTech, 21 days apart, and AstraZeneca, 12 weeks apart. Phase 1a remains on track for the first round of doses to be delivered within a six-week period. Under the Australian government's plan, quarantine and border workers and aged-care residents are on track to be vaccinated by April.

You can be assured the vaccine rollout is well underway in your home state of South Australia, Senator Fawcett. I'm advised that 933 people have had their first dose in South Australia, and we expect those figures to ramp up significantly as weeks progress. We thank all Australians, particularly the frontline health workers for their commitment and hard work in rolling out this vaccine across the country. Our vaccination program will underpin our health and economic recovery.