Australians 'chasing' COVID-19 vaccines like 'The Hunger Games': NSW Health Minister

The health minister of NSW, Australia’s most populated state, said that supplies of COVID-19 vaccines are so low that people have been “chasing” jabs like characters in The Hunger Games films. Brad Hazzard made reference to the hit film series - in which contestants must compete in a televised fight to the death - while expressing frustration at the slow vaccine rollout. "I fear… it is almost a sense now of The Hunger Games, of people chasing vaccine," he said, according to ABC News. 

Hazard added that until NSW gets enough vaccines… The Hunger Games will continue to play out in the state. It is worth noting that Australia has managed to inoculate just eight per cent of its 25 million population - the lowest vaccination rate among industrialised nations. However, speedy contact tracing, lockdowns, tough social distancing rules and high community compliance have kept Australia’s coronavirus numbers much lower among developed economies, with just over 30,800 cases and 910 deaths since the pandemic began.

As per reports, the Australian federal government has said that it expects to receive about 2.8 million Pfizer doses this month, up on 1.7 million doses in June. The bulk of Pfizer vaccines are not due to arrive until October, with 40 million doses of Pfizer and Moderna vaccine due for the final quarter of the year. NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said that until the new vaccines arrived, the state was increasing its capacity by opening up new mass vaccination hubs in south-west Sydney and Wollongong, as well as a new Sydney CBD clinic.

Berejiklian informed that from July 19, NSW pharmacies will administer vaccines. She added that the government was having “really solid conversations” with pharmacy to increase those numbers. "As we know the work has to happen now so that when the doses arrive there are enough … places for people to go to get the vaccine,” Berejiklian said. 

Australia’s COVID-19 outbreak 

Meanwhile, almost half the Australian population locked down since last week due to clusters mostly of the delta variant of the coronavirus that is thought to be more contagious. The biggest cluster is in Sydney, where a two-week lockdown is due to end on July 9. The higher infection rate of the delta variant has exposed the vulnerability of the Australian population in which, according to government data, only 8% are fully vaccinated.

Australian PM Scott Morrison has reportedly said that a vaccine would be made available to every Australian who wanted one by the end of the year. It is worth noting that the government has proposed fewer restrictions for vaccinated people. They are allowed to quarantine at home for a week after travelling overseas instead of two weeks in a hotel for the unvaccinated.

(Image: AP/Twitter)