It has been two weeks since the vaccine was made available to Aussies aged between 50 and 70 but only at major vaccine hubs and specialist clinics.Now, more than 4000 GPs will join the program.From Monday anyone in that age bracket can visit one of the thousands of GP clinics across Australia that are registered to be part of the rollout. “There are over 4300 GPs delivering vaccines to people aged 50 years and over from May 17,” the Department of Health said in a statement.“More than 1500 of those are in the regions, in regional, rural and remote Australia.”Scott Morrison on Sunday confirmed the news while speaking from Gladstone in Queensland.“If you are over 50, you can go to your GP who are providing these vaccines,” the Prime Minister said.“So, I think we will continue to see that build.”He said a record number of 30,000 Australians were vaccinated on Saturday alone.“We tripped over the three million mark on Friday, as I said we would,” Mr Morrison said.“And we’re seeing the vaccination program just go from strength to strength and the rollout with states and territories again amping up next week. “I think we’ll continue to see that build. But all the way through we’ll be guided by the medical advice, we’ll be guided by the economic advice.”About 85 per cent of those in aged care have been vaccinated as Mr Morrison urged older Aussies to get the jab.“We still need more people aged over 70 to go and get those vaccines,” the Prime Minister said.“That’s a very high priority for us because if there were to be an outbreak in Australia, they are the Australians most at risk, and that’s where our focus is most at the moment.”Patients will be offered the AstraZeneca shot, but anyone younger than 50 is advised to get the Pfizer dose instead.Phase 2a of the rollout includes people older than 50, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged between 16 and 49 or other critical or high-risk workers.PRIME MINISTER’S NEXT COVID PRIORITYPrime Minister Scott Morrison said Australia was “still many months away” from being able to allow international travel to safe countries without a strict quarantine program.And Mr Morrison revealed that the return of international students to Australian shores was now the priority.“We are always working on the next step and the next step is how we can safely have international students come back,” Mr Morrison said today. “I welcome the fact that universities are stumping up to work with state governments to put those facilities in place to support those customers coming back, the students coming back.”Mr Morrison also dismissed calls to repatriate citizens who have contracted COVID in India, saying the government will not import the virus into Australia.“Making sure we have a rigorous testing regime is very important and I have seen the suggestions from others who seem to think that we can put people who have tested COVID positive on planes and bring them into Australia,” Mr Morrison said.“I mean that just doesn’t make any sense.”Opposition leader Anthony Albanese said Australians who had caught COVID while stranded in India had the Morrison Government to blame because it had not acted sooner to bring them home.COVID-19 Stats – Horizontal with Lazy LoadNSW RESTRICTIONS Temporary restrictions imposed on Greater Sydney in NSW after a couple tested positive to COVID-19 will end on Monday at 12.01am.A NSW Health statement revealed the state recorded no new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm on May 15.Three new overseas-acquired cases quarantine were reported in the same period, bringing the total number of cases in NSW since the beginning of the pandemic to 5369.There were 12,203 tests reported in the same period, compared with the previous day’s total of 14,663. The news means temporary COVID-safe measures put in place for the Greater Sydney area will not be extended beyond 12:01am on Monday 17 May, says NSW Health.This means limits will be removed on the number of guests allowed to visit private households. Drinking while standing at indoor venues, group singing indoors, and dancing at nightclubs will again be allowed.Masks will no longer be compulsory on public transport or for customer-facing staff in hospitality venues, however NSW Health continues to strongly encourage their use on public transport and in other settings where physical distancing is not possible.“Despite extensive, ongoing investigations into the source of the two cases in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, NSW Health has not yet identified how the initial case was exposed to the virus,” the statement said.NSW Health is treating 75 COVID-19 cases, one of whom is in intensive care and being ventilated. Most cases (97 per cent) are being treated in non-acute, out-of-hospital care, including returned travellers in the so-called Special Health AccommodationNED-3619-AstraZeneca blood clots-What we know
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