The overhaul of the Australia’s vaccination program follows new health advice that no longer recommends the AstraZeneca jab for people aged under 50.Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Wednesday said authorities were now considering mass vaccination centres for people aged over 50 in order to get people inoculated by the end of the year. But Senator Lambie told Sky News that vaccines were needed before the mass sites were up and running.“We’re all having a bit of a giggle this morning, there’s no point having sites if you don’t have anything to inject into anybody,” she said. “What I would hate to see is (they) get all these sites organised, and they still don’t have the vaccines.”The Tasmanian senator slammed Australia’s vaccination rollout as “embarrassing” and accused the government of being “too cocky” about not investing in enough vaccine supply deals. She said people were still hopeful they would be vaccinated before Christmas but that might not happen. “It would be nice if they could just cement in a date that they are going to have those vaccines in the country,” Senator Lambie said. RELATED: Australia rules out one-jab vaccineBut Liberal MP Katie Allen said mass vaccination clinics were a good next step.“I really welcome that we’re going to move to GPs managing mass vaccination clinics so we can catch up in our timetable, once we get out supply secured again,” Dr Allen told Sky News. “That is what was being done in the UK and that’s why they’ve done so well with getting so many people vaccinated.”Dr Allen said there were clear benefits for people aged over 50 to get the AstraZeneca vaccine.“It is a vaccine that is going to stop you from having an adverse consequence, such as death, from COVID,” she said. Labor senator Katy Gallagher said the rollout was a “complete shemozzle” but welcomed the move to mass vaccination centres. “Any readjustment that brings in more resources and gets this vaccine rollout out quicker than is currently happening is welcome,” she told Sky News. Independent MP Helen Haines this week wrote to Scott Morrison about her concerns, including the use of the Pfizer vaccine – which has to be stored at freezer temperatures – in regional areas. “I really want this to work,” Dr Haines told ABC RN. “Some GPs are dropping out of the scheme … they have put on extra staff, they have set up their clinics in such a way that they can undertake vaccinations, again they have no guarantees of supply.”
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