State premiers are forced to SLASH their vaccine numbers by half amid growing battle with the government to get their hands on coveted Pfizer jabs
- Vaccine war between state and federal governments set to kick off again
- NSW and Victorian governments say supply of Pfizer is being cut in half
- Federal government say states are to blame for their lack of roll-out planning
The vaccine war between states and the federal government is set to kick off again as New South Wales and Victoria say they will have to cut jabs due to a lack of supply.
New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Victoria's Covid-19 coordinator Jeroen Weimar say their states have been forced to 'ramp down' vaccinations by July due to the absence of Pfizer doses.
'We're limited in that we can't control supply, we can't control the doses we get from the Commonwealth,' Berejiklian said.
'We will have to ramp down to around 40,000 first doses from the beginning of July, in line with the schedule we have,' Weimar added.
New South Wales and Victoria have been forced to 'ramp down' vaccinations due to the absence of Pfizer doses
Scott Morrison's government has been in a constant battle with the states over the bungled national roll-out of vaccines that has seen Australia labouring behind the rest of the world
Scott Morrison's government has been in a constant battle with the states over the national vaccine rollout, that has seen Australia labouring behind the rest of the world.
The decision to cut the availability of the AstraZeneca jab for Aussies under 50 and the wait for American Pfizer to be shipped has led to state's uniting to blame the Commonwealth.
'NSW highlighted the need to increase the capacity of the GP network,' Berejiklian said.
'We need more GPs and health clinics on board. We remain with a sense of urgency to the vaccine rollout. We can't control the supply.'
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The decision to cut the availability of the AstraZeneca jab for Aussies under 50 and the wait for the American Pfizer to be shipped has led to state's uniting to blame the Commonwealth
Victoria and Queensland will see their available weekly vaccines cut in half come July, with just 40,000 ready then.
Victoria had been administering 80,000 per week since its last outbreak.
Queensland handed out 81,000 vaccines last week, with Health Minister Yvette D'Ath saying: 'There will come a point where we run out'.
'I suspect we will have to start pulling back on first vaccinations to make sure we have enough for everyone to receive their second dose.'
The Federal Health Minister responded to the states' criticism saying they were responsible for their own rollouts and that the government were giving them appropriate information to pre-plan.
'The Commonwealth delivers all first-dose allocations to states and territories, with matching second-dose allocations delivered three weeks after first doses are administered,' a spokesperson for Greg Hunt said.
'This ensures that states and territories receive the second doses for administration as per the 21-day timing recommended by the medical experts.
'(Mr Hunt) wrote to all states and territories to ensure they are booking in and budgeting for second doses at the same time as first doses.'
