Thursday, 18 March 2021

COVID-19

Mr NEWBURY (Brighton) (17:15): (5827) My adjournment is for the Acting Premier, and the action I seek is for the state Labor government to prove it has a plan to roll out COVID-19 vaccinations across our state and to advise our community how, when and where that vaccination program will be delivered. The vaccination of 25 million Australians will be one of the biggest operations the nation has ever undertaken, and the states are responsible for the practical rollout. Victorians know that vaccinations are an effective way to protect against infectious diseases. They help strengthen your immunity and act to protect the broader community. Two of the most important factors in the vaccination rollout will be, firstly, that the program will need to be competently implemented, with logistics being carried out well and delivery being prompt, and, secondly, that details on the program must be communicated thoroughly. Good communication will assist with take-up of the voluntary vaccine. It will also allay the concerns that many in the community have.

For the benefit of my constituents, the vaccination program is being staged in a fivefold way. Phase 1A will ensure that almost 680 000 Australians in the areas of quarantine, border, frontline healthcare workers, and aged-care and disability-care staff and residents will receive the vaccine. Under phase 1B, 6.1 million Australians, including those 70 years of age and over, other healthcare workers, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults over 55, adults with a specific medical condition or a disability, and critical and high-risk workers, will receive the vaccination. 6.5 million Australians under phase 2A will be vaccinated. This phase will cover adults over 50 years of age, adult Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and other critical and high-risk workers. Under phase 2B, the remaining 6.6 million people in Australia will be vaccinated. Finally, under phase 3, 5.6 million young people under the age of 18 years of age will be vaccinated if it is recommended.

Recent figures show 164 437 vaccinations have been delivered across Australia. New South Wales has delivered 37 553 vaccinations, with Victoria some way behind, on 31 808. A former Victorian and national Australian Medical Association president recently observed that we have to get more and more people vaccinated and have to pivot from one-on-one vaccinations to mass vaccine type set-ups. Victorians are now rightly asking: what is the state Labor government actually doing about the rollout of the vaccination program in our state? Does the government have a plan, and will the Acting Premier advise our community how, when and where the vaccinations will be delivered? I look forward to the Acting Premier’s response.