National Cabinet examines COVID-19 vaccine rollout strategy

18/ 09/ 2021

(See Translation in Arabic Section)

Sydney - M E Times Int'l:  National Cabinet met on Friday to discuss Australia’s recent COVID-19 outbreaks and the vaccine rollout strategy.

Since the beginning of the pandemic there have been 82,202 confirmed cases in Australia and 1,138 related deaths. More than 35.2 million tests have been undertaken.

To date, more than 24 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered and more than 70.4 per cent of the population aged 16 and over have now had a first dose of a vaccine and more than 45.3 per cent are fully vaccinated.

The cabinet members received an update from the Doherty Institute on the modelling undertaken to predict the rollout effectiveness.

Doherty’s sensitivity analysis found that the Delta variant can be managed at vaccination rates of 70 percent and 80 percent when combined with appropriate test, trace, isolate and quarantine (TTIQ) practices and public health and social measures to control transmission and manage capacity of the health system.  

The modelling confirms that with high vaccination and appropriate TTIQ to constrain outbreaks, overall cases and deaths are expected to be similar in order of magnitude to annual influenza.

With school holidays starting in some states on Friday, National Cabinet endorsed the National Code on Boarding School Students. The Code provides nationally consistent arrangements that help boarding school students, parents, carers and boarding school staff travel across borders between school and home.