Prime Minister Scott Morrison confirmed the changes in a statement this evening following the first emergency meeting of National Cabinet.
“National Cabinet agreed in-principle to a series of changes to the Australian COVID-19 Vaccination Strategy that will be put forward for approval at the next meeting of National Cabinet including options to bring forward the commencement of vaccinations for over 50-year-olds under the Australian COVID-19 Vaccination Strategy priority group 2a,” Mr Morrison said in the statement.
“And the readiness of more state and territory-operated vaccination sites including mass vaccination sites, as vaccine supplies increase.”
He said National Cabinet also reinforced GPs will continue to be the primary model of the vaccine roll out, with states and territories to consider options to supplement rollout through expanded state vaccination centres.
To date, almost 1.6 million COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in Australia.
The number of administration sites continues to expand with 4,500 general practices, general practice respiratory centres and Aboriginal health services now administering COVID-19 vaccinations.
Mr Morrison said National Cabinet also received detailed health briefings on the roll out, including one on the blood clots associated with the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.
“The priority of the Australian COVID-19 Vaccination Strategy remains to vaccinate vulnerable populations under priority groups 1a and 1b,” he said.
“The medical advice remains that the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine is safe and recommended for Australians over 50 years old and all states will continue to be prioritised AstraZeneca for Australians over 50 years old.”
There have been 29,500 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Australia and, with 910 deaths.
More than 16.3 million tests have been undertaken in Australia.
Globally, there have been over 141 million cases and sadly over 3 million deaths, with around 698,000 new cases and more than 9,000 deaths reported in the last 24 hours.
Mr Morrison said the Commonwealth will continue to finalise the vaccination of residential aged care facility (RACF) residents with Pfizer using an in-reach model.
National Cabinet will meet again on Thursday 22 April 2021.
This content first appear on 9news