The Hon. Greg Hunt MP
Minister for Health
TRANSCRIPT
22 December 2020
INTERVIEW WITH CHRIS SMITH
2GB BREAKFAST
E&OE…
Topics: COVID-19 vaccine booster roll out
CHRIS SMITH:
So, National Cabinet meets today – they’re going to discuss potential mask mandates; a redefinition of what it means to be fully vaccinated; a time frame for getting your booster shot, maybe it’s being brought forward to four months; et cetera.
Greg Hunt is the Federal Health Minister and he joins me on the line, live now. Minister, welcome and Merry Christmas to you.
GREG HUNT:
And good morning, Chris, and good morning to all of the listeners.
CHRIS SMITH:
I got to say, after all the, you know, gnashing of teeth over the slower than expected roll out at the beginning of the year, gee, I tell you what, we’ve caught up in quick time, haven’t we?
GREG HUNT:
Well, we’ve just hit 94 per cent of first doses this morning, obviously one of the highest rates in the world, and with one of the lowest rates of loss of life in the world.
We’re at 90.8 per cent of second doses. And, yesterday was a record booster day – 156,000 – and so we’re now at one and two third, two thirds of a million, so 1.668 million boosters. And people are stepping forward in massive numbers.
And so Australians have always been great vaccinators.
CHRIS SMITH:
Yeah.
GREG HUNT:
This week we put out figures showing we’ve got a 95 per cent five-year old childhood vaccinations rate, and 97 per cent in indigenous communities. All these figures, it just means huge numbers of Australians have been stepping forward.
But if you’re due for your booster, or if you’re in the 6 per cent that haven’t had a first dose, please come forward.
CHRIS SMITH:
Are we going to see boosters available after four months from the second shot?
GREG HUNT:
Look, we’ll follow the medical advice on that. One of the things that I think is very important, you know, long before COVID we’ve had, I think, arguably the world’s leading immunisation advisory group, the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation.
They’ve helped give us really high childhood rates, they’ve given us confidence in COVID, and so we’ll follow their advice.
At the moment, it’s five months. If they deem that the medical evidence is such that it, it should be four, then obviously we’d change.
But right now there’s the opportunity for those who are most at need, you know, those that are five months and above are either the healthcare workers, they’re the, the older Australians, and so it’s protecting those, automatically it protects those who are most at need.
And, and if there’s a change to medical advice, as we’ve done, we’ll let the public know, and let the medical sector know, and, and follow that advice.
CHRIS SMITH:
I’m still getting calls from people saying: I was going to get a boosted next week, but then my pharmacy or my GP has not had enough shots, and so therefore it’s been put off for another month. There are some shortages for people who want to go and get their boosters.
The problem with moving it from five months to four months is it makes getting a booking a little bit harder, because another million plus people will be ready for a booster.
GREG HUNT:
Yeah. So at the moment, there are record numbers of vaccines out in the field. So there’s over five million vaccines that are available, so it’s actually not a question of vaccine supply.
It may be that an individual state clinic, or an individual pharmacy or general practice has so much capacity that they can deliver in a day.
And so if you’re saying: I have to go to this particular general practice; I only want to see, you know, Dr X, or Dr Y; then that vaccination may not be available immediately.
CHRIS SMITH:
Sure.
GREG HUNT:
But if you’re willing to look around, and the beauty of the pharmacy program is that’s tripled in capacity in just over a week – from 15,000 a day to over 52,000 a day. And so the pharmacies have stepped up, they’ve been magnificent; our GP’s have stepped up.
Our state clinics have decreased quite significantly in some of the states and territories. And so, for example, we saw on Monday there were 52,000 doses in New South Wales, but 44,000 of them were Commonwealth, and under 8,000 were through the state clinics.
So we’re encouraging the states to ramp up their doses.
CHRIS SMITH:
Yeah.
GREG HUNT:
In New South Wales, for example, well, through the pandemic it’s been 60 per cent Commonwealth and primary care and 40 per cent state clinics. At the moment, it’s less than 15 per cent of state clinics in New South Wales.
So they’re doing their job, but we want them, you know, to step up. Its understandable people are tired, but around the country this is the moment where it’s all hands to the pump.
We’re ahead of schedule on our booster program. Thanks to Australians and thanks to our GPs and pharmacies, we’re about half a million ahead of schedule in terms of doses delivered – as they say, you know, almost 1.7 million boosters.
And they’re increasing- yesterday about 156,000. So Australians are doing their part, and if we can get a couple of the jurisdictions – New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland in particular – to lift the rates in the state clinics, and that will really help the nation with its booster program.
CHRIS SMITH:
We keep hearing about modelling. We’ve had a modelling estimate from the New South Wales Health Minister – 25,000 cases could be the reality every single day. Another piece of modelling about 300,000 cases a day, et cetera.
How do we look at modelling? And what should we, how do we treat modelling? Which we’ve got to remember, modelling often is an expectation of the worst case scenario, right?
GREG HUNT:
Correct. And that’s- yesterday, I think there was a one particular scenario – which was the worst case scenario as the chief medical officer said in a statement overnight – which talked about very high numbers.
But Professor Kelly put out a statement which said, you know: one very early preliminary scenario, which was the worst case scenario which assumed no hospital surge capacity, assumed that Omicron was the severest Delta, and assumed that there was no behavioural change, a limited booster program, and no mask wearing or other related activities, then that would give you, potentially, a high figure.
But none of those scenarios are likely to be the case, as Paul Kelly said, let alone all of them.
And so you have to look at what are the assumptions. They can give you a base case, which then helps you with your actions. And we know, though, when you look at that booster tally of being half a million ahead of schedule, that what that means is Australians are doing a great job, our GPs and our pharmacists are doing a great job. So all of these things are coming together.
CHRIS SMITH:
Yeah. So take it with a grain of salt.
GREG HUNT:
Well, you have to take this, this particular scenario. I think the chief medical officer’s express words were none of these five assumptions represents the likely state of events, let alone all of them together.
Therefore, presenting that scenario as the likely scenario is highly misleading. So those are the CMO’s words, which I think is pretty important.
Now, what does it mean as a country? It means, as we reduce restrictions, there were always going to be more cases. But 94 per cent first vaccination across the country as of today – that was an almost unimaginable figure. I don’t remember anybody talking about that as a likely outcome.
I think we’ve exceeded pretty much everyone’s expectations, and it’s not over yet. Australians are continuing to be vaccinated. Now we have the booster program, and again well ahead of schedule on that.
But this is a chance, you know, if you call around – pharmacy, GP, state clinics, Commonwealth clinics, all of these are avenues for getting your booster. Or, if you haven’t stepped forward for your first or second dose, for your first or second dose.
CHRIS SMITH:
Yeah.
GREG HUNT:
And people have been magnificent.
CHRIS SMITH:
And just in terms of mask mandates or no mask mandates, where do you stand? Where will we end up this afternoon after National Cabinet meets, do you think?
GREG HUNT:
Look, it’s, it’s very much a matter for states under what are called public health orders. And so there’s no question that masks in crowded settings can play a really important part in protecting people.
The first thing which the Prime Minister, and to be fair, the Premier of New South Wales have been emphasising is just the, the common sense responsibility that people have been showing. And I’ve seen it in many, many places.
Yesterday I was in both Queensland and New South Wales, and there was a good balance of people wearing masks in, in circumstances where they were more crowded.
But it may be that people step up in doing that, and then it will be up to individual states and territories on their circumstances as to whether or not they would require people in indoor settings to be wearing the masks.
CHRIS SMITH:
Okay. Finally, three listeners have just texted me and said: can you ask the Federal Minister about Novavax and the availability of that vaccine?
GREG HUNT:
Yes. Yes. So Novavax is a protein vaccine. We have AstraZeneca, viral vector. Pfizer and Moderna, mRNA. Novavax is being- is going through the TGA or the Therapeutic Goods Administration – our medical regulator – they’re getting the data.
And I’m hopeful that, subject to that data stacking up, that this will be available in January. It’s only worldwide, just going through these regulatory proposals.
But I think that will add probably, Chris, you know, it’s a bit of a, an estimate, a per cent or so to the vaccine program. But every per cent when you’re at 94 per cent makes a huge difference.
CHRIS SMITH:
Counts. Yeah. We could get to 95 easily – that would be incredible. There was no handbook on how to manage the pandemic. You’ve done an exceptional job.
On behalf of listeners, thank you very much for the job you’ve done, and all the very best for when you set out into the sunset and retire from politics.
GREG HUNT:
Well, we’ve got a lot, a lot more work to do, so we just keep at it – but that’s very generous. And, you know, the, the great privilege in, in this role is just working with the Australian public.
You know, yesterday, at a, a surf club on Bribie Island where we launched the National Skin Cancer Awareness Program, there were, there were disability support groups, there were surf lifesaving groups, there were Nippers programs. And, you think, it’s a good country and we mustn’t forget that.
CHRIS SMITH:
Yes.
GREG HUNT:
It’s a really good country. And that vaccination rate, it just shows the sense of self responsibility, but also care for others.
CHRIS SMITH:
Thank you for your time this morning. All the very best for Christmas.
GREG HUNT:
Thanks, Chris. Cheers.
CHRIS SMITH:
Okay. Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt.
-ENDS-