The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has announced that the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine has met the required standards for safety, quality and efficacy for its use in Australia.
Welcoming the decision, Prime Minister, Scott Morrison said this meant Australia now had two safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines.
“Initial supply will be imported from overseas. In the coming months, the AstraZeneca vaccine will be manufactured in Australia,” Mr Morrison said.
“Safety is our number one priority and our own medical experts have carefully made their assessments before giving approval of the vaccine.”
The Prime Minister said TGA had reviewed all of the available evidence and determined that two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine could be safely administered to an individual four-to-12 weeks apart.
Minister for Health and Aged Care, Greg Hunt said data from clinical trials indicated the AstraZeneca vaccine would stop people becoming seriously unwell with COVID-19.
“This is — and must — be our first priority,” Mr Hunt said.
“It would be irresponsible of us to put anything ahead of this,” he said.
Meanwhile, more than 142,000 doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine have arrived at Sydney Airport.
Mr Hunt said this was the first shipment of 20 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine Australia had secured.
“The TGA will batch-test the vaccines to ensure they meet Australia’s strict quality standards,” the Minister said.
He said the most vulnerable Australians are to start receiving the vaccine from next Monday (22 February).
