Four million doses of the Pfizer vaccine will be sent from the UK to Australia as part of a Covid-19 vaccine deal.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the move in a press conference from Canberra just days after his country secured 500,000 near-expiring Pfizer cans from Singapore.
“The aircraft is now on the tarmac. It will leave tomorrow, ”said Morrison.
“These doses will be coming over the next few weeks, which will double the Pfizer doses we have in September.
“That means we’re doubling Pfizer doses here in Australia from Downing Street to Down Under this month.”
Australia has one of the slowest vaccine rollouts among affluent countries, with only 36.4% of people over the age of 16 being fully vaccinated, according to the Australian Immunization Register
The country’s two most populous states, Victoria and New South Wales, are on lockdown and counting on their residents to be vaccinated to help contain the Delta variant outbreak that began in Sydney in mid-June.
The deal comes hours after Boris Johnson said the UK must “go faster” in vaccinating 16-17 year olds despite “strong” acceptance within the age group.
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