Federal government’s COVID vaccine rollout slower than most by international standards

Australia’s vaccination rollout has been too slow and we need to get on with it, immunisation expert Professor Robert Booy has said.

The infectious diseases expert, from the vaccine advocacy group Immunisation Coalition, said the planning strategy for deploying the vaccine across the country needed to be “greatly improved.”

The federal government has been widely criticised for delays in the vaccination program, with almost 842,000 doses being administered since the program began.

On Thursday, there were 79,000 vaccinations delivered, a daily record.

Professor Booy said GPs, nurses, and pharmacists delivered 17 million doses of flu vaccine in a few months last year.

“We’ve got the model already,” he told ABC Radio Melbourne.