Both states only on Thursday passed the 50 per cent threshold for fully vaccinated residents aged 16 and over. The Defence Minister warned the two states would not be able to continue on as they had been once the rest of the nation opened up. “Vaccination rates need to lift to 80 per cent, particularly in Queensland and WA,” he told Nine’s Today.“But we’re getting to the other side of this and we’re going to have to live with it, and thinking that you could lockdown and pretend like it’s not going to come to Queensland or not going to come to Mackay or into Perth or Fremantle is complete nonsense.“So, let’s look at what NSW and Victoria is doing now. They’re going to open up. “People are going to reunite with their family and friends in the run-up to Christmas, and that is something we should celebrate.”But Labor has cautioned against opening up without proper modelling of the health system being able to cope with the pressure. “We need to hear from the Prime Minister – firstly, what is the modelling that he’s done about what will be the impact on our health system when we see states open up?” Deputy Opposition Leader Richard Marles said.“And what is the plan, what is the national plan to provide support to the states in relation to this?”Meanwhile, the government says it is ready to roll out Pfizer jabs to kids aged 5-11 should the medical regulator give the green light.Pfizer has sought approval from the US Food and Drug Administration for a lower-dose version of the vaccine to be used in children under 12. Health Minister Greg Hunt last month wrote to Pfizer to apply to the Therapeutic Goods Administration for approval in tandem with its FDA application. Mr Dutton said the government was ready to act but was awaiting further evidence to be evaluated.“It is not a political decision. Our country has got one of the most advanced health systems in the world and we have got the TGA as part of that and all sorts of approval processes,” he said. “They don’t approve vaccines in this country without the most rigorous testing and we should take heart from that.“So I think always be guided by what the doctors and the scientists say, and if they approve it then the government will act on that straightaway. But it’s a decision for the scientists, they shouldn’t be rushed into it.”Mr Marles urged the government to move quickly so parents could have comfort their children were protected against the virus. “I mean, I have a child under 12, so that’s the path I would walk if it was available to me. I think parents, there’ll be a lot of parents, who have kids under 12 who’ll be looking at that,” he said. “But I think what matters from the government is that it gets its skates on; it doesn’t, it learns the lessons of its failure last year to not get in the queue of the various vaccine projects and that if this is available in Australia we get it. If it is available in the world, I should say, we get it in a timely way in Australia.”
Powered by WPeMatico
