Australia’s Health Minister Greg Hunt has welcomed the emergency approval given to the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine in Britain.
As of Thursday afternoon, there had been 27,939 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Australia, and the number of new cases in the last 24 hours was 16, according to the latest figures from the Department of Health.
The department also said that the numbers of locally and overseas acquired cases in the last seven days were five and 66 respectively.
Responding to the news, Hunt said that Britain’s emergency approval of the vaccine was an “important step for the world” but that it would not influence Australia’s timeline.
“Our advice remains that the timeline for a decision on approval is expected by the end of January 2021, and our planning is for first vaccine delivery in March 2021,” he said in a statement.
Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine is one of four vaccines the Australian Government has purchased for a total projected supply of 134.8 million units.
Hunt also said at a news conference on Thursday that the work that is being done in Britain “will give Australia and the world very important data, very important lessons both on the rollout and the efficacy of this particular vaccine.”
Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who attended the conference in Canberra with Hunt on Thursday, said that the COVID-19 situation at the moment in the country was very stable. (Xinhua/NAN)
