The first of 50 million doses of Australian-made AstraZeneca have been distributed which the Morrison governments hopes will give the vaccine rollout a vital shot in the arm.
As of Friday, Australia hit a milestone of 500,000 jabs although this was well short of the four million the government had predicted just a few months ago.
Health Minister Greg Hunt said the decision to produce the vaccine in Melbourne had ensured Australia was one of the few countries with guaranteed supplies going forward.
One of the problems has been the blocking of some AstraZeneca shipments by Europe.
More than 507,000 Australians had been vaccinated as of Friday – 329,000 vaccines administered in state and territory vaccination clinics, 97,000 in general practices and more than 80,000 in aged care homes, Mr Hunt said.
Meanwhile, authorities in Queensland, who are trying to contain a potential coronavirus outbreak a week out from Easter, have discovered that an infected man had not thrown a party for up to 25 guests as first reported.
Instead, it was limited to the man’s housemates and one other person, all of whom are now in quarantine.
Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said officials acted on what they understood to be true at the time and told reporters she became aware of the new information on Sunday morning.
“As I understand it this is the information that was received from this gentleman himself,” she told reporters.
Queensland Health are tracking down people who may have come into contact with the men at 24 exposure sites, and asking them to isolate and get tested.
The potential for an outbreak has sparked a lockdown of hospitals, aged care facilities, prisons and disability services providers in the Brisbane City and Moreton Bay council areas.
The state did report one new historical COVID-19 infection, the brother of one of the state’s current cases, who is no longer infectious and is believed to be a ‘missing link’ between the most recent cluster and a doctor who tested positive earlier this month.
Elsewhere, NSW is taking another step back to ‘normal’ as more restrictions ease, including masks no longer being mandatory anywhere in the state from Monday.
