Australia will receive 1 million doses of the Moderna vaccine from European nations as early as next week, with children as young as 12 to soon receive the jab at community pharmacies.
The 1 million doses – which add to the 10 million Moderna doses already on order – are being sent from Spain, Czech Republic, Portugal and Bulgaria, which all have surplus vaccines that need to be used before they expire.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the vaccines would be sent directly to community pharmacies across the country, in line with advice from the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI).
"Families will now be able to go along together to the pharmacy to get their vaccinations," Mr Morrison said.
This is the latest in a series of vaccine supply deals the federal government has struck with the United Kingdom, the European Union and Singapore, easing supply demands in lockdown states where case numbers are rising. The doses from Bulgaria are notable given that the country is the poorest nation in the EU.
When announcing this latest deal, Mr Morrison said there was now enough vaccine for everyone still waiting for a jab to be offered one in October.
Close to 1,800 community pharmacies across the country will receive Moderna doses from the week of September 20, with another 1,800 to receive Moderna doses after that.
Shadow Health Minister Mark Butler welcomed the deal but said the Prime Minister should not be congratulating himself.
"I don't think frankly the Prime Minister should be patting himself on the back when we're in the middle of a disastrous third wave that has been driven first of all by him urging the New South Wales Premier to resist going into lockdown" Mr Butler said.
Mr Morrison announced 400,000 Moderna and Pfizer vaccines would be sent to Victoria, where cases continue to rise, in the coming weeks.
"Residents in Melbourne's north and west will benefit from additional vaccines and a rapid expansion of vaccination sites across the region, as part of a three-week blitz to deal with the surging Delta outbreak there," he said.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said the additional 400,000 doses were "fantastic news" and after criticising the federal allocation earlier this week, he said they were "what we were owed".
Mr Andrews appeared unaware of the announcement until told by a reporter at a press conference.
"Maybe while I've been talking to you there has been a missed call on my phone," Mr Andrews said.
"I don't know – let's not argue about who said what to whom. Let's get jabs into arms, that's what I've been focused on."
