Richard Colbeck (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Senior Australians and Aged Care Services) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Abetz, for your question. Rolling out the COVID vaccine across Australia is one of the government's highest priorities. The country is on track for the first and most vulnerable of Australians to start receiving the vaccine from Monday. Senator Abetz, I'm pleased to inform the Senate that there are 16 Pfizer vaccination hubs across Australia, including in our home state at the Royal Hobart Hospital. Thousands of aged-care residents in Australia at more than 240 facilities will receive their first COVID-19 vaccine dose next week. The facilities are located across Australia in over 190 towns and suburbs, in rural and urban areas and in every state and territory. Next week, in our home state of Tasmania, rollout of the vaccines will occur in aged-care facilities in Burnie, Lugana, Newnham, Newstead, Norwood, Penguin, Riverside, Somerset, St Leonards, Ulverstone and Wynyard.

Of the 142,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine which arrived into the country this week, approximately 80,000 doses will be released next week. Approximately 30,000 vaccines will be made available for the Commonwealth vaccine in-reach workforce to aged-care and disability care residents. Information has been sent out to aged-care facilities for residents, their families, carers and loved ones about what to expect in the lead-up to, and on, vaccination day. The Department of Health had sent a readiness toolkit to aged-care facilities, including clinical requirements and a checklist for vaccination day.