DOCTORS OF THE HOUSE UNITE FOR VACCINE

Medical Doctors of the House, Dr David Gillespie, Dr Mike Freelander, Dr Katie Allen and Dr Andrew Laming have united this week in welcoming the first doses of the coronavirus vaccine in Australia.

The first shipment is part of 20 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine, secured through an advance purchasing agreement under our vaccine strategy.

The arrival of the vaccine confirms that we are on track for our most vulnerable groups to start receiving the vaccine on 22 February 2021. 

Approximately 80,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine will be made available in the first week. The first priority for vaccines are hotel quarantine and border workers, frontline healthcare workers and aged care and disability care residents and staff.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has approved the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine for use in Australia following a full and thorough assessment process.

We have secured 53.8 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, with 50 million doses being manufactured here in Australia. 

Two safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines are approved for use in Australia.

The Australian Government is committed to providing safe and effective vaccines free to everyone in Australia.

Dr David Gillespie

“The vaccines have been through incredibly rigorous assessment by the TGA and deemed safe and effective to reduce the burden of disease and severity of disease and give a good degree of protection to the Australian community.”

“The main thing is: prevention is better than any cure and I prefer not to get sick, so I’m going to get the vaccine.”

Dr Andrew Laming

“Immunisation is a safe and effective way to protect you, your family and community from the virus. It also safeguards the health of our older people, like our grandparents”.

Dr Mike Freelander

“With thanks to the diligence and efforts of the independent experts at the TGA, Australians have cause to feel confident about the quality and effectiveness of the vaccines that will be rolled out over coming months.”

“I certainly will be continuing to encourage people to get vaccinated.”

“Our TGA has undertaken a rigorous review of both the AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines, both have met the highest of standards, and I am pleased that the rollout will soon be taking place.”

Dr Katie Allen

“COVID has changed the way we live our lives. The free and voluntary COVID Vaccine will turn this from a deadly disease to a nuisance disease. That will transform our public health response so lock downs are a thing of the past and Australians can reconnect with the rest of the world.

“Australians should be confident that our vaccine strategy has not cut corners on safety thanks to our world-class TGA processes and procedures.”