National

Australia to return 3m Pfizer doses to UK

By AAP Newswire

Dec 15, 2021

CORONAVIRUS COVID19 — Australia is set to return three million doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to the UK next month. -AAP Image

Australia will return three million doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to the United Kingdom next month, three months after a vaccine swap deal was signed between the two nations.

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The Morrison government secured four million doses of Pfizer from the British government in September as part of a vaccine swap agreement.

The deal was struck at the height of lockdowns in eastern jurisdictions, when vaccine supply was still an issue.

As part of the deal, Australia was required to send the same number of doses back to the UK by the end of the year.

A health department spokesman said one million doses had already been sent to the UK in November, with the remaining three million to be returned before Christmas.

"These returned doses have been, or will be delivered directly from the manufacturer," the spokesman told AAP.

Australia also returned 500,000 Pfizer vaccines to Singapore in November, fulfilling its side of a similar vaccine swap deal that was agreed to in August.

Health authorities have insisted despite Australia returning a large number of doses, there would be no supply issues as the country deals with a growing number of Omicron cases.

"The Australian government has purchased more than 280 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines from a number of manufacturers to ensure adequate supply for Australians," the health spokesman said.

"There are no supply constraints for vaccines."

It comes as the Australian general manager of pharmaceutical giant Moderna indicated that data on how effective its booster shot was against Omicron was imminent.

Michael Azrak told the Nine Network on Wednesday Moderna was hoping to share its vaccine data in the next week, after an independent investigation into its efficacy.

"It's important we get antibody levels back up where they were and the best way to do that is by getting the boosters when they're due," he said.

Meanwhile, Pfizer has announced the results of testing of its COVID-19 treatment pill, saying the antiviral drug reduced the risk of hospitalisation and death by 89 per cent if it is taken within three days of symptoms presenting.

Its efficacy only drops marginally, to 88 per cent, if taken within five days of becoming symptomatic, the company said.

"Emerging variants of concern like Omicron have exacerbated the need for accessible treatment options for those who contract the virus," Pfizer chief executive Albert Bourla said in a statement.