Katie Allen (Higgins, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise basically to say it's about time we stopped talking down the COVID vaccine rollout, and that is because it's generating fear and anxiety in the community. This government has been open and transparent about the issues that we have faced, and those issues are well-known across this country. Despite the noise from those opposite, despite the noise generated by people who have a vested interest in saying things like, 'There should be another government running this country,' it is because we know the Australian community has trust in and respect for the government and knows that the Morrison government has its back.

I would like to talk about some of the issues that this government has addressed, and has addressed calmly and openly, and made sure it's taken the Australian public with it. The first thing to talk about is the issue of supply. Perhaps people on the other side haven't noticed, but it's very clear that there has been a supply issue globally, and that is because COVID has been raging internationally. There is no doubt that the international agreements that this government had with countries in Europe, in particular, have actually not been supplied because those governments have been more concerned, appropriately, about their citizens and their risk of dying than they have been about their customers. That is very understandable.

But what is important for the community in Australia to realise is that this government has the backs of Australians when it comes to supply. That is because this time last year, when we were facing the initial pandemic which was coming at us at speed, the health minister, Greg Hunt, had to deal with an initial supply issue, and that was a supply issue for PPE: masks, gloves and gowns. He dealt with that extremely well by ensuring that we stepped up manufacturing onshore, particularly of masks and gowns, so that we had a sovereign supply. He knew at that time that Australia was dealing with something that was coming at us at speed. I had local GPs in my electorate call me and say, 'I don't have enough masks to get me through the next few days.' Greg Hunt, the then Minister for Health, was able to step up that manufacturing capability at great speed and with great diligence. But he knew back then that our sovereign capabilities were incredibly important for Australia's future, so that, when other people were concerned that we weren't going to even have a vaccine, as early as September last year he organised an agreement with CSL to ensure that we had sovereign supply here in Australia of AstraZeneca. There is no doubt that using AstraZeneca as the backbone of our vaccine rollout has been incredibly important.

I want to raise not just the issue of supply but the issue of side effects. I've been known to say publicly that I believe that the side effects of AstraZeneca are not a problem that we should be talking about in great depth because, when you look at the side effects of AstraZeneca, you're more likely to die going to your vaccination appointment than you are from a vaccine side effect. ATAGI, which is the evidence based group that has been providing the Morrison government with information, has recently released a statement that talks about the safety of the AstraZeneca vaccine. ATAGI has been informed by our world-class Therapeutic Goods Administration, the TGA. I think all Australians understand it is top-quality. We have always said, as a government, that we will make sure that safety comes first and that, with the rollout of this vaccine, we would put the health and safety of Australians first.

There are now clear diagnosis and treatment pathways for responding to cases of clots that have been associated with the AstraZeneca vaccine. Previously, these clots were of unknown origin, and medicos were not sure about how to treat them. This has now changed, and the outcome and prognosis has considerably improved. There are 22 patients who have already recovered from vaccine associated clots and have been discharged from hospital. Unfortunately, one person has died from TTS in Australia, but the risk of side effects from clots from AstraZeneca are put at less than one in a million. This is a very low side affect.

The good news is that Australians are understanding, as we look at the COVID lockdown in Victoria, how important the vaccine rollout is to their health and safety of themselves, their loved ones and all of Australia. I'm pleased to say that, now that the supply issue has been sorted out and we understand how to better treat the side effects of the COVID vaccine, the COVID vaccine is in demand and being embraced by Australians. We have some short-term scheduling issues that are being resolved as we speak, but, hand-in-glove, all governments are working together to roll out COVID vaccination for the good of the Australian people, and I commend the government's work in this area.

See this speech in context