Prime Minister
Prime Minister: Good morning, everyone. It's great to be here at Scientia, another one of Australia's great clinical trial and medical laboratories and service providers who do a tremendous job here and we thank Doctor Lemech in particular for hosting us here today and showing us around and letting those who are working on these incredibly important vaccines and the trials that are taking place. We welcome also Novavax as well as Pfizer and of course, it’s always good to have Professor Brendan Murphy here with me. We have appeared together on many occasions over the course of what has been an incredibly difficult year. But today is another day when we can look forward to a much better 2021 and there are many reasons for that.
As we've worked through the course of what has been such a difficult year with COVID-19, one of the reasons Australia has proved to be one of the most successful countries in the world in not just handling, of course, the health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic but the economic impacts as well, is as a government and as governments all around the country we have always sought to look for that next challenge and how we will solve it. As a government, we have never sought to stay stuck in neutral when it comes to dealing with COVID-19. We always need to be looking ahead as to what the next challenge is and ensuring we're putting in place the mechanisms and solutions that will enable Australians to move forward. To move forward indeed in 2020, but to move even further ahead in 2021. As we look around the world today and particularly as we look in Europe, as we see countries locking down, in Australia we're seeing Australia open up. In Australia, we're looking forward to 2021 and our policy and program, led by Professor Murphy, on getting Australia at the front of the pack when it comes to vaccines, which will be game changers and as each day passes, we become more optimistic, cautious, of course, ensuring that we are going through all the necessary processes to ensure that we have both a safe vaccine and an effective vaccine.
Now, today, we're announcing an extra $1.5 billion investment in the Novavax and Pfizer vaccines. This adds to our overall program of over $3.5 billion that we're investing to ensure that Australians will be in the leading pack of the world as we move into the next phase of dealing with COVID-19, which is the vaccine phase. Now, we're in advanced stage of trials, particularly here when it comes to Novavax’s vaccine. Australia is part of those trials here, right in here in Randwick, right here in Sydney, and Australian scientists, Australian researchers, Australian clinical trials all playing an important role in the global challenge of finding and testing and trialling this vaccine. The TGA will play an absolutely essential role in assuring all Australians that the vaccines that will be made available will be safe and they will be effective and so as we move into 2021, a year where we are very hopeful that these vaccines will prove effective and will be able to disseminated right across the population, we take the next steps, which is a national vaccine policy, which has already had its first pass by the Federal Cabinet recently. It will go back to Cabinet again after further consultation with the states and territories and then will also go to the National Cabinet for confirmation because the dissemination of any vaccine is done in partnership with the Commonwealth and the states and territories. Now, it is the Commonwealth who makes those calls on the vaccines and provides the funding and the transport and the storage and all of these things but it is, of course, the states and territories that play a critical role in the actual administering of that vaccine across the population.
So it is a very exciting day today. It's a day that Australians can take more hope and as we move towards Christmas and as families gather around, as borders come down and Australians can connect with each other again safely, and I stress safely, it's important we open safely so we can remain safely open. That they can come around as we draw to the close of this year and look forward with great positivity towards 2021. In so many parts of the world today, that won't be the case, but it will be the case here in Australia because of the way Australia has responded and dealt with this pandemic and the many facets of it. I'm going to ask Professor Murphy to speak and our representatives from Novavax and Pfizer and then happy to take questions.
Professor Brendan Murphy, Secretary of the Department of Health: Thank you Prime Minister. So I'm here today as Chair of the Government Scientific and Technical Advisory Group on Vaccines. This is a high powered group that gets together regularly to look at the now quite extensive array of potential vaccines around the world and advise the Australian Government on purchases. We've now got four vaccines that we've secured, plus our partnership in the COVAX facility, the international buying potential to provide another vaccine if that comes up in the future but these four vaccines give us over 134 million doses of vaccines and it's a diversified array of vaccines. We now have two what we call protein sub-unit vaccines, the University of Queensland CSL vaccine and now the Novavax vaccine and protein vaccines are the most established technology and so it's good to have two of those to make sure that we have a choice, depending on the results of the phase three clinical trials of how we use them. But also, as you know, the AstraZeneca Oxford vaccine, which is an adenovirus vector vaccine, which is looking increasingly promising as its trials progress. And now, of course, we now have the access to the Pfizer mRNA vaccine. This is a very exciting new technology mRNA vaccines have not previously been registered for human use, and we now have this in our armoury as well. So it is a diversified strategy. As the Prime Minister said, we still have to wait for phase three clinical trials. We still have to see which vaccine works better in which population and how effectively but we have not put all our eggs in one basket. We have diversified our strategy and we have the capacity now to start vaccinating the Australian population in the first quarter of next year, which is a terrific outcome and gives us a very, very strong position internationally in access to vaccines. So I'll leave it there. Thanks, Prime Minister.
Prime Minister: Thank you.
Jenny Herz, Novavax: First of all, thank you to the Prime Minister and Professor Murphy. It's a fantastic opportunity to be here today. I’m very proud to represent Novavax on this important announcement of two more vaccines. I'm happy that their technology is being selected by Australia. Novavax is a late stage biotech company based in the US. They actually have a long history of collaboration with Australia, they have done many clinical trials here over the last six or seven years. And in fact, Australia led the way with the phase one two trial that was conducted. Firstly, phase one was in Sydney and Melbourne with 131 Australians that participated and then the phase two has been conducted in up to 10 additional sites here and more in the US and Scientia Clinical Research, I’d like to thank them very much and in fact all the study participants and study teams that have been involved in this really important work. We have some early results from the phase one study that show that the vaccine safety profile is as expected and also that it induces a robust immune response. The phase three trials are now underway. They’ve started in the UK and they will soon be starting also in the US and Mexico. So we're very hopeful that by the first quarter of next year, we have some indication of the success of those phase three trials and we're obviously very proud to be part of this diversified strategy to make sure Australia is protected through a range of vaccines. Thank you very much.
Anne Harris, PFIZER: So thank you, Prime Minister Morrison and Professor Murphy. Pfizer is very much committed to our purpose, which is breakthroughs that change patient’s lives. And we are deeply honoured to be working with the Australian Government to [inaudible] our scientific and manufacturing resources to bring a potential COVID-19 vaccine as quickly as possible to Australians. Today's agreement is to produce and provide 10 million doses of an mRNA-based vaccine. We are currently in late stage clinical trials and that's for both safety and efficacy, and that data will drive our decision making and the timelines as we move forward. So the highest, our commitment to the highest level of quality and safety throughout this process will continue to be maintained whilst we see how we can accelerate bringing the vaccine to Australians as quickly as possible. So from here, we would hope that if the clinical data is positive, we would be looking to put our regulatory submissions in by the end of this year and we are currently already marshalling our manufacturing resources to deliver, globally, 1.3 billion doses by the end of 2021. We recognise the significant impacts that COVID-19 has had on lives and livelihoods and Pfizer, along with the innovative medicines and vaccines industry, are really committed to partnering and bringing forward not only vaccines but therapeutics that can address this challenge. We have a thriving, innovative medicines and vaccines industry in Australia, and we will continue to partner to ensure that we are part of the solution to address not only the health impact but the economic recovery that is so desperately needed across Australia. So, again, we would like to thank the Australian Government for this partnership and we look forward to, subject to all the approvals and subject to success, bringing forward a potential COVID vaccine to protect Australians. Thank you.
Prime Minister: Another point that is very important, we start manufacturing the AstraZeneca vaccine in Australia next week which is another exciting milestone and of course, the AstraZeneca vaccine also has to meet TGA approval, it also has to go through the final stage trials, all of those things. But we're making sure that should these approvals be given, that we'll be able to move as quickly as possible and the arrangement we already have with AstraZeneca enables advance shipments of those also to be in Australia. So manufacturing has begun, the trials are underway, the suite of vaccines that we have put in place under Professor Murphy’s leadership is really putting Australia in a strong position at a time when Australians need it most. Happy to take questions on this, let’s focus on this, I am sure there are other issues you want to raise with events overnight and I'm not just talking about State of Origin, there were a few other events over the course of the night, and I'm sure we'll get to those but first, while we have our health representatives here, let's address that.
Journalist: Prime Minister, congratulations on this partnership. So we've now acquired four vaccines at a cost of $3.2 billion. Will that money only be spent if they're successful? Can you tell us a bit about that?
Prime Minister: Look, the commercial in confidence agreements that we have with each of the providers, there is an element that relates to should it be approved and there is an element that doesn't because what has to be invested in the production and research of the trials. So it's a combination of both.
Journalist: Was the decision to strike an agreement around the doses of the mNRA Pfizer vaccine rather than the vaccine licence partly because Australia doesn't have the capacity to produce mRNA vaccines?
Prime Minister: Well, I’ll let Professor Murphy speak to that. We have manufacturing arrangements in place with CSL, as you know, for both the UQ and they've just finished the production of the UQ trial vaccines. As I understand it, the trials are taking place now. And as I said, next week, they start production on the AstraZeneca vaccine. So that is the priority in terms of the Australian production. We've been able to secure the supplies through the manufacturing capability on the others but the specific nature of the vaccine, which you referred to, is quite unique and I will let Professor Murphy speak to that.
Journalist: Thanks, Prime Minister. mRNA vaccines are very different technology. We don't have that production capability, certainly not on the commercial scale, in Australia. So the decision as part of a diversified strategy we thought 10 million of this vaccine would be a good first option if this turns out to be the most successful vaccine but obviously there's a capacity to buy more and there is the capacity, we are exploring the potential of whether we could set up local manufacturing but that isn't a prospect at the moment. It's something being looked at. We, as the Prime Minister said, we are continually being nimble about our approach to vaccines. So we're looking at all options of purchase, all options of manufacturing but this gives us the best diversified position at the moment.
Journalist: Prime Minister, on the speed at which the AstraZeneca vaccine is manufactured, what's the speed of the manufacturing process? How many doses will be manufactured initially? Pending, obviously it being approved?
Prime Minister: Well, I’ll Professor Murphy speak to this as well. With the arrangement with AstraZeneca, there is a combination. The overwhelming majority are manufactured here in Australia. That process begins next week. But the vaccines will become available over the course of the year, starting in quarter one. The Minister indicated that this morning through the third part of the first quarter of next year, we expect those to be available but again, what I want to stress to Australians is while we are moving with the urgency that you would expect and while we are taking decisions to seek to put Australia in a very strong position for next year, the safety of these vaccines is of the utmost importance. That is our number one priority. Of course, we all want to see a vaccine as soon as possible. Of course, we want to see not just Australia, but the world be able to return to some form of normal next year. Of course, we want to see that but when it comes to people's health, you can't cut corners. You can't have undue haste, you can't rush. You've got to get it right and what I take great confidence here in Australia is there are many reasons why we have been successful as a country in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. Shutting off the international borders, one of the first countries to do so. Absolutely critical, the health responses, some $18 billion we have invested as a Commonwealth Government in the health response. That's a significant investment. We've talked a lot about the economic investment made to save people's livelihoods, $18 billion we have invested to save people's lives directly. And we've been able to do that because we have a world class health system. We have a world class scientific community. We have people like we've met here today at Scientia who are world class. I've met them up at the University of Queensland, the researchers recently. The reason we have been able to do so well has been because of the standard and the quality and commitment of our health professionals in this country and those who work across our health system. That has given us a massive advantage. And as a Commonwealth Government, we’ve backed that in. We followed their advice and we've ensured that they've had the resources to get on with the job. So I will ask Brendan to add to that.
Professor Brendan Murphy, Secretary of the Department of Health: So the vaccine, we’ve got notional distribution plans. The first doses of AstraZeneca vaccine are actually coming from overseas early next year and that will give us an early approach to using the highest priority populations. And then all of the four vaccines are planned to have scheduled delivery during the course of next year so that the plan is to have all of our 134 plus doses delivered about it by the end of 2021.
Any other questions on today? Well, can I thank Scientia in particular for being able to be here and to meet with your staff today and thank them and all of the medical and scientific personnel working around the country at the moment. They have such an important task and we thank all of them. To Novavax and to Pfizer, thank you for the partnership. It's a very important one. And the way the pharmaceutical companies have engaged with the issue of vaccines, I think, has been very positive. They understand that there's a global challenge here and they’ve stumped up and brought to the table what they need to and they're partnering with governments all around the world and we found the partnership here to be very, very strong. We thank you very much for that. So we might move to other questions and Senator Bragg will continue to remain with me. It's good to have you here, Andrew. Happy to take other questions.
Journalist: Prime Minister, how worried are you about one of the greatest democracies in the world, given that the US President has effectively dismissed the counting in an election?
Prime Minister: Well, the great thing about the United States, it is a great democracy and it does have great institutions and we have a deep and wide relationship with the United States, which is incredibly important to Australia. We are both like-minded and alike in so many ways, our values, our partnerships, economic security and in so many ways. And I have great confidence in the democracy of the United States and I have great confidence in their institutions. And the thing about great institutions in democracies is they deal with whatever challenges come, just like our own does. And that's why I expressed confidence. I think a great democracy, having a great election with the greatest turnout it's ever seen in its history is actually a demonstration of democracy working.
Journalist: Do you think that Donald Trump is trying to undermine democracy, given his claims of electoral fraud and his move to stop counting?
Prime Minister: I'm not a participant in the US political process. I am a partner. Australia is a partner with the United States and we respect the decisions that the American people make in their democracy and we will be patient and we will await the outcome of their process. It's not for me to run a commentary on those things and I won’t. I work with the President of the United States as the Prime Minister of Australia and I've enjoyed a very productive working relationship with the President. And I will always put Australia's interests first in that relationship.
Journalist: Prime Minister, do you share the views of your former parliamentary colleague, Joe Hockey, who suggested that there could have been fraud in this election? Or do you share the views of your current parliamentary colleague, Dave Sharma, who said that a leader needs to respect that sanctity of the process and facilitate a peaceful transfer of power when needed?
Prime Minister: Well, I express my own views and I've just expressed them.
Journalist: Have you reached out to Donald Trump or Joe Biden?
Prime Minister: It's not appropriate at this time. The way you normally, I mean, obviously, we have ongoing dealings with the US Government and that's normal both in terms of the political events in the United States, it's the appropriate response to be patient and respectful and that's exactly what we're doing.
Journalist: Would it be damaging or potentially damaging to the relationship between Australia and the US or the US standing in the world if there is a protracted period of uncertainty with court battles and the like before we find out the ultimate result of this election?
Prime Minister: What is always damaging is speculating and so I don't propose to do that. Media can, you can, that's fine, but governments don't speculate. We have relationships and we act with respect to our partner countries and particularly allies. The United States is a great country. They are great people and they are making a decision about who should lead them and we have that same opportunity here in Australia. I mean, this is a democracy that has withstood the demands of centuries and I have no doubt it will continue to prevail and continue to be a great partner for Australia.
Journalist: At a time of particularly high stress around the world though, would it not be, add more difficulty to Australia negotiating with the US if there is a period of protracted uncertainty? And following on from that, do you share concerns that China is increasingly targeting more industries in Australia like wine? We’ve seen reports in the Australian newspaper today that they’re going to suffer trade sanctions.
Prime Minister: Well, first of all, I don't share the impatience of others when it comes to a result being arrived at. By that, I mean the speculation in the media and the commentary around that. I think it's important to simply to be patient and it will be resolved. We'll soon know what that is and then we'll be able to provide the appropriate recognition of that and get on with what is an amazing and wonderful and very important relationship with Australia. On the other matter that you've raised, I simply note that is not what China has said they’re doing. China has denied that is what they are doing and I can only take that at face value out of respect for the comprehensive strategic partnership we have with China and to work through the channels that we have under that relationship to address the issues that have arisen. Now, those issues are matters that the Trade Minister and I obviously have concerns about and are working closely with industry to pursue the appropriate channels within the relationship to seek to get some clarity and some resolution of those but I simply note that what you've suggested is something that China has denied. And so that, you know, I can only refer you to what they've said they're not doing. And on that basis, I will take that at face value and we'll continue to work through the process. Thank you very much.
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