Australia is still chasing one million AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine doses for Papua New Guinea as the Pacific island nation's pandemic death toll surpasses 100.
The ball is in AstraZeneca's court after Trade Minister Dan Tehan received an assurance from the European Union the order would not be blocked through export controls.
"We are now seeking, through the foreign minister and the health minister, to see whether we can get those one million doses from AstraZeneca," Mr Tehan told Sky News on Monday.
The minister is back in Australia after visiting Europe, the United Kingdom and the Maldives for talks on trade and vaccine agreements.
The coronavirus death toll has reached 102 in PNG and infections have risen to more than 10,600.
But officials have said the official number of cases is likely to be much higher, as the country's fragile health system is unable to conduct mass testing.
Vaccine hesitancy is rife in the country, with conspiracy theories and misinformation about exaggerated medical risks spreading on social media.
.jpg?w=600)
