Prime Minister
NATALIE BARR: For more, I'm joined by Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Good morning to you. How significant is the Pfizer deal for Australia's vaccine rollout?
PRIME MINISTER: Good morning, Nat.
BARR: And are you confident that Pfizer will be able to deliver as promised?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, Pfizer have been a very good partner to work with, and we've been working steadily with them now for many weeks and months to try and bring forward this supply. We'll get up to a million doses a week from the 19th of July. And on a monthly basis, it means that back in May, sorry in June we had 1.7, then we went to 2.8 million this month, and it'll go to 4.5 million next month in August. So that is a real uplift in what we're seeing with Pfizer. And we've just been working the problem, Nat, and ensuring we can get as much as we can from Pfizer, bringing that forward. We've got, you know, over a thousand extra GPs that are coming into the network this month, which are doing Pfizer as well. So the points of presence are expanding. And this means that we can really keep hitting these marks. We're just a whisker off a million doses being delivered a week, every now, administered every single week. And at that pace, we get this job done.
BARR: Yeah. Look, you know, for the last few months, I guess a lot of Australians have been disappointed that we have been low on the list on a world scale for two doses. Why haven't we been able to secure these Pfizer doses before now?
PRIME MINISTER: Oh, there's just a shortage of the doses around the world, we're in a global pandemic. It's as simple as that, and we've been able to ensure that through the AstraZeneca vaccine that we've been able to have over five million doses specifically done through that channel. And we're encouraging people, as they have been, to come back for their second doses of AstraZeneca. We've obviously had the challenges with the programme, with the medical advice that has been applied here in Australia, obviously different in the UK, where 44 million people have had AstraZeneca doses. Certainly the programme has had its challenges. But we're making up that ground now and to get to a million doses a week very shortly and go beyond that means that in the second half of this year, which we're now in, we'll see ourselves going up that ranking. But importantly, the other important ranking is, is when you look at those charts, when it comes to fatalities, to deaths from COVID, I mean, that is the, that is the statistic, obviously, where Australia leads the world. I mean, just the other day they had more cases in the UK in one day than Australia has had in the past 18 months. So I think you've got to look at these things in balance.
BARR: Look, let's look at Sydney. The COVID crisis has deepened, 38 new cases yesterday, 21 in Sydney's South West. We had you on the show when the outbreak began. Here's what you had to say back then, we'll take a listen.
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BARR: Do you think Sydney should have gone into a harder lockdown sooner?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I think Sydney should have and the Premier should have acted on the advice that she had and the information she had, which is all that we can do. And I think it's a good thing that wherever possible, we don't put unreasonable burdens on people whenever we can. And I think the Premier here in New South Wales has done an extraordinary job. And I think Sydneysiders and people in New South Wales have appreciated that. Putting those restrictions in obviously comes at a great cost. And I think resisting that always, which has been the New South Wales Government policy, I think has broadly been welcomed. I mean, we're still dealing with a pandemic. I also support her strongly now in the measures that she's taking now based on the evidence that we have before us and whatever additional measures she needs to take, she will have that support from the Commonwealth Government. I've made that very clear in the discussions we've had this week with her and the Treasurer and with Josh Frydenberg as well. If they need to go further, well, they'll have our backing to do that and they'll have the economic support to do that. As you know, yesterday we relieved the restrictions as we go into the third week for that disaster recovery payment for people in the Sydney metropolitan area. There's no liquid assets test. So that means it doesn't matter how much cash you've got on hand as we go into a third week. We appreciate that. And we've extended that support.
BARR: But I suppose by not locking down harder, we're now in our third week, there's talk that we may go into our fourth week in New South Wales, the biggest economy in the country. You've got other state leaders saying that's allowed people to be flippant, that's allowed people to go out, and you're not crushing the virus like Victoria did, like other states did.
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I'm not going to get into the tit for tat arguments happening between states, and I don't think they're just …
BARR: But just as concept …
PRIME MINISTER: Each state is making their own decisions now. No, but what I'd suggest is the challenge we've had in New South Wales is compliance, compliance with those restrictions. I mean, people can be wise after the fact. But equally, I mean, the idea of when a lockdown should have been put in place, I mean, is an arguable point at that time. But what matters is once it's in, then the compliance is necessary, and that's where there has been the challenge in Sydney over the course of this past week and a half that we haven't seen the compliance that has been necessary. And it's important to get that compliance in place. And that's why yesterday was encouraging. And I said the virus doesn't move on its own. It moves by people moving the virus around. And that's why it's so important that the restrictions that have been put in place that are appropriate just need to be complied with. And so compliance has been the challenge, I would argue, as opposed to necessarily what the start date was.
BARR: You're advising people in Sydney due for their second AstraZeneca jab to get it sooner, get it at eight weeks if they can, rather than 12. The AMA has just said that's not quite as good as 12, but it's better than nothing. Are you happy with that advice?
PRIME MINISTER: Yeah, well, that's the advice of the Chief Medical Officer and the Secretary of the Health Department, Professor Murphy and Professor Kelly. And that's because in those areas where we're seeing the outbreak threatening the greatest, then that's where the risk to people is greatest and particularly those who are over 70. And so this advice always is based on the context and the risk that is present. Two doses, now, if you're over 70 and you're living in an area where the threat of the outbreak is greatest, is in your interests and it's within the TGA's approval, which actually goes, I understand, from four to 12 weeks. And they've said if you can get it at eight, if you can do it from eight and you can get vaccinated now, then that will give you a greater protection for if you have found yourself contracting COVID at this time. So it's important. It's important that people get their second dose and we'd be encouraging people to come forward and do that. If you're not in one of those highly affected areas, then of course, the balance of risk is different. But if you are, then I'd be strongly encouraging people to go and do that based on the medical advice I've had from Professor Kelly.
BARR: On something else, the TGA has told a Melbourne pub to stop giving away free beers as an incentive to get vaccinated. What do you think about one beer, Prime Minister?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I think this is a bit heavy handed. Greg Hunt, the Health Minister and I, when we saw this last night, he had a chat to the TGA. And I particularly want to commend Greg Hunt for the great job he's done getting these Pfizer doses in. He has been relentless in this task, but on this task as well, I mean, the TGA are just doing their job. Those rules are there for important reasons. So drug companies can't offer drugs and cigarettes to people to buy their prescription drugs. So it's a sensible rule. But in these circumstances, the national interest is to get vaccinated. So the PA down there in Melbourne. Good on you for getting in behind the national effort. We'll get it sorted. Common sense will prevail. Cheers. Cheers to the PA.
BARR: The hotel's got the backing of ScoMo, so I think something could happen today. Thank you very much, Prime Minister. We appreciate your time.
PRIME MINISTER: Mind you, at 150,000 doses administered a day. I think he might want to be careful. There might not be enough beer in the kegs, I think, to back that one in.
BARR: Exactly. Oh, it's Australia there'll be enough beer. We never run out, do we? Thank you very much, Prime Minister.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks a lot, Nat.