NSW prepares to accelerate the COVID 19 vaccine roll out by making arrangements to establish a COVID 19 'mass vaccination hub' in Homebush, in Sydney's inner west.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced that the facility at Homebush would be operational n within the next few months. This is aimed to support the Commonwealth, which is tasked with most of Australia’s vaccine rollout. She said that the government is hopeful to deliver about 60,000 injections per week. About fifty percent of these would be done in the Sydney Olympic Park facility and the rest to be handled by at least 100 centres in the state.
At today's media briefing, the Premier stated that the best advice the government can offer is for those who have had the first dosage to go ahead with the second dosage. For those who are yet to receive the first dosage, the recommendation is that if under 50 years to have the Pfizer vaccine.
The Prime Minister, Mr Scott Morrison also announced after the National Cabinet meeting that Australia has secured 20 million doses of Pfizer vaccine which will delivered by the end of this year. This follows the Commonwealth government recommending that Pfizer is administered to people under 30 years old.
The biggest development has been governments making their stance with regard to the use of Astra-Zeneca COVID 19 vaccine. NSW government has recommended that Pfizer is administered to people under 50 years whereas the Commonwealth government is recommending the age of 30 years as the cut off.
In the meantime, there the Tasman travel bubble between New Zealand and Australia is all set to allow Australians to travel to NZ quarantine-free technically from 11:59pm on Sunday, April 18 New Zealand time, which is Monday, April 19. In the same token, an exemption to leave Australia is also not required for those travelling to New Zealand.
As for Kiwis looking to visit Australia, the one-way travel bubble that was in place last October is still in place, with all the states and territories participating except for Western Australia.