Australian PM approves use of Moderna vaccine

The Australian government announced Monday that Moderna will next month become the third COVID-19 vaccine to be rolled out in Australia.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the Australian vaccine regulator, the Therapeutic Goods Administration, had approved Moderna for use by adults 18 years and older.

The first million doses will arrive in late September, part of a total of ten million Moderna shots scheduled to be delivered to Australia by the end of this year, Morrison said.

The head of the Therapeutic Goods Administration, John Skerritt, told reporters that Moderna was "highly efficacious."

"The other really encouraging thing about Moderna is, even after six months, it is proving to be 93 percent efficacious against any infection, 98 percent against severe disease and 100 percent against death, and that's really exciting," Skerritt said.

Australia has a shortage of the Pfizer vaccine and a glut of locally-manufactured AstraZeneca which many are refusing to take because of the slight risk of blood clotting.

Only 22% of adults among an Australian population of 26 million had been fully vaccinated by Monday.

The government expects to have provided a vaccine to every Australian adult who wants one by the end of the year.

IMAGE: AP