Rolling out a coronavirus vaccine by mid-2021 would deliver a massive bonus to the Australian economy, Josh Frydenberg says.
The treasurer has based his federal budget forecasts on a national vaccine roll-out by the end of next year.
“If that occurs six months earlier, that will provide a $34 billion boost to the Australian economy,” he said on Thursday.
Mr Frydenberg welcomed Britain’s approval of a vaccine, but says the decision will not fast-track its approval in Australia.
“Obviously, their situation is somewhat different to Australia’s. They’ve had more than a million infections, nearly 60,000 deaths,” he told the ABC.
“We have the vaccine going through our own regulatory approval process and the health minister has said he expects that process to conclude by the end of January.
“If the vaccine is found to be safe and effective, then it will be rolled out by March.”
The vaccine by Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech is one of the four COVID-19 vaccines purchased by the federal government.
It was approved for use on Wednesday by the British government, which said it would be rolled out across the UK early next week.
The treatment is known as a messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine, which uses only the virus’ genetic code and not weakened forms of the virus as conventional vaccines do.
The federal government welcomed the UK’s emergency approval of the vaccine as an important step for the world.
A woman who works in a Sydney quarantine hotel has been diagnosed with coronavirus, sparking concerns about potential transmission.
The NSW government expects more cases however the woman’s five family members tested negative overnight.
