Boss of biotech company tasked with making promising coronavirus vaccine slams Dan Andrews' lockdown strategy as a 'map for misery' and warns there may NEVER be a jab
- Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews under fire from CSL chairman Brian McNamee
- Melbourne businessman described roadmap out of lockdown as 'map of misery'
- CSL is one of the companies to manufacture a coronavirus vaccine in Australia
- But its boss Dr McNamee has issued a dire warning to not bank on a vaccine
The boss of one of Australia's biggest biotech companies has slammed Daniel Andrews' road map out of lockdown as a disaster and has warned there may never be a successful coronavirus vaccine.
CSL chairman Brian McNamee described the Premier's strategy as a 'map for misery' for Victoria and crushing policy for a dynamic city such as Melbourne as it recovers from a second horror coronavirus wave.
He also warned against the federal and state governments assuming a vaccine was on its way after Australia's hopes for a vaccine being developed in the UK was put on hold earlier this week.
Dr McNamee told the Herald Sun: 'It's a map for misery for Victoria. Why do I say that? There's so many factors that influence that.
'First of all the modelling is too narrow in the context they're looking for. Your model is only as good as your inputs and what you are trying to achieve with that model.'
Australia's hopes for a vaccine suffered a setback this week after one being developed in the UK was paused. Pictured is a woman at drug company AstraZeneca's headquarters in Sydney
The Melbourne businessman says he doesn't know anyone who supports Premier Andrews' strict stage four lockdown and his 'roadmap' to ending restrictions.
He told the publication the premier doesn't understand the severity of what is happening in the economy.
Australian's second largest city will remain in stage four lockdown until at least September 28 after Premier Andrews extended it by two weeks on Sunday.
Regional Victoria remains under stage three restrictions which allows residents to leave home for essential purposes.
He's among a host of business and community leaders who have slammed the premier's plan out of lockdown this week.
Others included Australian Workers' Union state secretary Ben Davis, Kmart Group managing director Ian Bailey, Harvey Norman chairman Gerry Harvey, Australian Retailers Association chief Paul Zahra and Melbourne Lord Mayor Sally Capp.
Dr McNamee also had a dire warning regarding the coronavirus vaccine, despite CSL being charged as one of the companies to manufacture it in Australia.
He believes Victorian government's lockdown strategy relies on a vaccine but warned it may be 'a very long way off'.
'We can't bank on a vaccine. I think the treatments are improving but we have to learn to live with COVID. We have to manage it,' Dr McNamee told the Herald Sun.
Australia's hopes for a coronavirus vaccine are under threat after trials in the UK were paused over major safety concerns.
Late-stage studies of AstraZeneca's vaccine candidate are on hold after a patient became seriously ill on Tuesday.
The jab being developed at Oxford University is the only overseas candidate that Australia has agreed to buy while other developed countries have signed several deals.
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CSL chairman Brian McNamee has described the Premier's road map out of lockdown as a disaster and a 'map of misery'. Pictured are police patrolling Melbourne's Bourke Street Mall on Thursday, which remains under stage four lockdown until at least September 28
The road map out of Melbourne lockdown has been described as a crushing policy by one businessman. Pictured are Melburnians soaking up the sunshine in the CBD on Thursday
Australia has only one deal to buy a vaccine from overseas - the Oxford one with Prime Minister Scott Morrison under pressure to sign more deals.
Dr McNamee wasn't surprised about the vaccine trial pause.
'We've said all along everyone is working incredibly hard, we're cautiously optimistic, but there are risks and that's why at CSL we've got two vaccines we could manufacture because the likelihood of both working is not high,' he said.
Mr Andrews claimed on Wednesday that he only introduced Melbourne's overnight curfew to make it easier for police to enforce lockdown.
But in an extraordinary retort, Victoria Police's Chief Commissioner Shane Patton said he did not request a curfew and that he only found about the new law hours before the public was told.
'I was never consulted. I've made enquiries to determine if anyone in the organisation was briefed on the matter,' he told the 3AW radio station.
'We had never asked for a curfew.'
After initially denying it was his decision to bring in the stay-at-home rule, Mr Andrews finally came clean and admitted he was responsible for it and that it wasn't based on medical advice.
The decision was 'ultimately made by me', the premier said at his daily press conference on Wednesday.
'It's not a matter for Brett [Sutton], that's not health advice, that's about achieving a health outcome. His advice is "do whatever you can to limit movement".
Mr Sutton, Victoria's Chief Health Officer, had earlier confirmed that he did not advise implement the curfew.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison (pictured left at Astra Zeneca's Sydney headquarters on August 19) is under pressure to to sign more deals get Australia a vaccine
