Australia to Vaccinate 80,000 People a Week; Taps Drug Stores and GP Doctors

(Bloomberg) --

Australia will rely on general practice doctors and drug stores to administer Covid-19 vaccines as the nation aims to inoculate its population this year.

General practices and pharmacies will begin providing doses of the AstraZeneca Plc vaccine in the second part of the first phase of Australia’s program, Health Minister Greg Hunt told reporters Tuesday. Hospitals will use Pfizer Inc.’s vaccine due to the requirement it be kept at minus 70 degrees Celsius, he said.

Subject to approvals, Australia will begin inoculating front-line workers and aged-care residents next month. About 80,000 people will be vaccinated each week initially, with the remainder of the country’s 25 million people receiving a shot through 2021.

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Australia’s system is up to the task, Hunt said. The nation administered 17 million flu shots last year, largely through general practice doctors and its drug-store network, he said.

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