The Hon. Greg Hunt MP
Minister for Health and Aged Care
TRANSCRIPT
9 September 2021
INTERVIEW WITH LIAM BARTLETT
6PR
E&OE…
Topics: Pfizer vaccine availability
LIAM BARTLETT:
The tit-for-tat over whether or not the Federal Government acted early enough to secure the vaccine deal for the country with pharmaceutical giant Pfizer continues to ricochet right around the country.
It would appear, at its heart, that the criticism is that Pfizer wanted to meet with Health Minister Greg Hunt in June last year in the hope of signing a major deal, and the Minister somehow squibbed it and put off the meeting until August.
The deal was eventually signed in November last year – now that compared pretty poorly with other countries like the US and the UK that had signed their deals as early as July. Our deal was signed in November.
Now, the Opposition says that emails they extracted from Freedom of Information requests don’t lie, and they show Greg Hunt’s office was way too slow. So which is it?
Minister Hunt, good morning.
GREG HUNT:
Good morning.
LIAM BARTLETT:
Minister, where is the truth on this? Did you personally engage with Pfizer fast enough?
GREG HUNT:
Yes, I first engaged with Pfizer formally in May of 2020, only a few months after the pandemic began. And we were engaged early, consistently, with a range of potential manufacturers in a world of enormous uncertainty.
My office met with them. We met with them only days after they agreed to commit formal negotiations – they were not in a position to do that until 30 June, and we met on 10 July, both my office, the Department, with Pfizer Global and Pfizer Australia.
And most significantly, we followed the medical advice and struck agreements for three different types of vaccines – a protein, viral vector, and mRNA; four different vaccines and five different agreements when you bring into account the COVAX.
All of this meant that we were able to bring on board to Australia at the earliest available time, doses commencing in February. And there were no earlier doses Available. Pfizer has rejected these claims put out by the ALP, it’s very unusual for a company to do that. They categorically rejected that.
LIAM BARTLETT:
So that’s the key. That’s the key, isn’t it? That’s the key. Because this whole thing has given the impression that you delayed it unnecessarily. So, could you have signed that vaccine deal physically any sooner?
GREG HUNT:
No, I don’t believe we could have, and I certainly don’t believe that there was a single dose, I know there were no doses any earlier available for Australia.
As Pfizer said yesterday, each agreement was based on the availability of doses, and the earliest schedule that could be provided at that time. And the proof of that is our great friends, New Zealand, they received their first doses as the same, as part of the same shipment as us, and the reason why we were able to get this in February.
But of course, the companies that were manufacturing in the countries that had mass death, naturally, naturally had to focus on the mass death. And in the same way, now we’ve been able to bring forward the AstraZeneca in Australia.
We recognise that this was a global challenge and that we had to rely on ourselves, as well as import, but we created a sovereign vaccine manufacturing capability in Australia. That AstraZeneca has led now to 90 per cent of over-70s, as of today, having the vaccine; 85 per cent in WA; 90 per cent but uncapped around the country.
So if you’re over 70 in WA, now’s your chance, there are no limits on the vaccines, please keep coming forward.
LIAM BARTLETT:
So there’s no way, there’s no way that we could’ve got, like the US and the UK, we could’ve done the deal in July?
GREG HUNT:
There were no early doses available to Australia. And that’s been made clear by Pfizer. The Pfizer yesterday categorically rejected those views.
LIAM BARTLETT:
Okay. Can I just, sorry to,
GREG HUNT:
Pfizer proposed to the Australian Government the procurement of 10 million doses of our COVID-19 vaccine, and each agreement was based on the availability of doses and the earliest schedule that could be provided.
LIAM BARTLETT:
Can I just come back to the figures that you mentioned there? Ninety per cent? Did you say 90 per cent of over 70s have had their, what? Double jab or first, first dose?
GREG HUNT:
First dose, yeah. So as of this morning, so hot off the press – and I think you’re the first person I’ve had the chance to speak with about this, Liam – 90 per cent of Australians over the age of 70 have had their first, first vaccine; 68.8 per cent, so more than two-thirds, have already had their second dose.
And that’s actually been driven overwhelmingly by the access to uncapped volumes of AstraZeneca available for every state and territory. WA is doing well; they’ve got 85 per cent. But we encourage everybody, through the state system, the GPs, the pharmacies, to come forward and be, and be vaccinated.
And there are no limits for anybody to access that AstraZeneca, it’s available in plentiful quantities. And we’ve also got now nine million doses of Pfizer and 1 million doses of Moderna that are available this month.
LIAM BARTLETT:
Alright.
GREG HUNT:
So this is the moment it and everybody needs to, for their own sake, to be protected.
LIAM BARTLETT:
Well, the over-70s certainly pulling their weight.
Minister, can I just ask you? Your state counterpart here in WA, Health Minister Roger Cook, has as lashed out on this, saying it’s extremely annoying that you didn’t act sooner. It would have made a huge difference to protecting Western Australia.
GREG HUNT:
Look, I like Roger immensely, I really do. On this, he’s wrong. Because there were no earlier doses. Pfizer has made that clear.
And the two, you know, critical points on this is the companies that were manufacturing in the US and Europe have to focus on the mass death there and make sure that the early doses were available where they would save the most lives.
But equally, Australia was in February. And that, and the second point there is, that was the same time as New Zealand. And that was a reflection of the success of both countries. And our loss of life is one thirtieth of the OECD average, our loss of life is 1/45th of the UK and the US average. And everybody’s played their part – Western Australia, all of the states and territories, the fact that we closed the borders early. And the vaccination program now is, is the chance to embed that.
And you know, my view is that everybody’s doing their best, but here’s the opportunity for Western Australians.
LIAM BARTLETT:
Right
GREG HUNT:
And you know, I understand there are some who I want to fight. That’s not what we want. We think our job is to bring the nation together.
LIAM BARTLETT:
Well, what do we do moving forward? Because our, our Premier here is now saying that this state will not open until vaccination rates go past 80 per cent. Somewhere past 80, he won’t put a definitive figure on it, but that may not be until at least April next year.
GREG HUNT:
Well, the national plan is for states and territories to open up progressively at 70, and then very much so at 80 per cent, and that WA’s on that pathway.
And the enormous volumes of vaccine that are, that are coming forward right now, across every state and territory is a huge opportunity.
LIAM BARTLETT:
But does that sound late to you? Does that sound late to you? April next year?
GREG HUNT:
Well, I can’t see any reason why every West Australian, well I know every West Australia will have the opportunity to be vaccinated this year, if not significantly earlier than the end of the year.
With the huge volumes of Vaccines that are available, the fact- you know, proof of that is uncapped AstraZeneca for all of Western Australia. And I think the West Australian Government’s ordered about 54 per cent of their available AstraZeneca on the latest figures that I have, or about a 150,000 unordered doses.
LIAM BARTLETT:
Well.
GREG HUNT:
So we’d urge them to take them up, that, that can help West Australians. But also what we’re seeing is enormous volumes of Pfizer coming forward, AstraZeneca coming forward, and Moderna beginning in the week of 20 September.
LIAM BARTLETT:
Well, why, why do you think he’s invoking April? Why do you think he’s even mentioned April? I mean, that, you know as well as I do that the Federal Election is due in May next year.
GREG HUNT:
Correct.
LIAM BARTLETT:
Do you, do you think there’s politics being played out here?
GREG HUNT:
I won’t speak for the Premier. I would absolutely hope not, because this is about families coming together, about parents separated from children, grandparents that have never seen their grandchildren, people coming for funerals and weddings and births – the great events of life, the very stuff of our humanity.
And I am absolutely certain that there are no barriers to Western Australia achieving 80 per cent, not just this year but well inside this year. Now’s the chance to push.
And, and we know that this Delta variant, it’s become endemic around the world, that means it’s embedded itself as a permanent feature, so the vaccinations are fundamental. Sooner or later it will find its way everywhere in the world, and that means we have to protect ourselves.
So I would hope there’s no message of waiting on vaccinations. It is urgent, it is critical. The availability’s there. Nine million doses of Pfizer month. So I’d say to the West Australian people: it’s in your hands. Protect yourself, protect your friends and help open your state.
LIAM BARTLETT:
Speaking of the Delta strain, as Federal Health Minister are you comfortable with the health and safety risks surrounding the holding of the Grand Final here in Perth?
GREG HUNT:
Look, I am. Let me be honest. You know, I talked about the fact of unifying the country. As a Victorian, I would love the Grand Final to be in Victoria, but as an Australian I think it’s absolutely critical that we have, and it’s for the morale of the nation, that we have crowds.
So I think they’ve done the right thing, and I think they’ve got good health and safety rules around it. It’d be the easiest thing for me to take a free hit, but I don’t think that’s the truth of the matter and nor would it be the right thing for me to do.
So, I hope it’s a fantastic Grand Final.
LIAM BARTLETT:
And, and Minister, this concept of National Cabinet, national approach – it’s basically dead, isn’t it? You’d accept that?
GREG HUNT:
No. we haven’t replaced 120 years of Federation. But what we have done is when there was a risk of the nation fracturing in March of last year, I think it was March 13, Friday 13 March that the National Cabinet was created because the PM was aware of the history of the Spanish Flu. And we’ve overwhelmingly helping, together, used it as a vehicle to bring things together.
But what I have seen is that there will still be issues, and sometimes some folks may be looking for a fight. We’re not. Our job is, as the national government, to work as a single country to bring people together. And I think we’ve done that remarkably well.
When you look at the 30,000 lives saved compared with the OECD average, and 45,000 lives saved compared with the US and the UK. You know, these are great nations but they have suffered immeasurably.
LIAM BARTLETT:
But we’ve got, we’ve got so many states doing their own thing, haven’t we? I mean, you’d have to be the ultimate optimist to still be on the national treadmill.
GREG HUNT:
Well, I think all, all Premiers and Chief Minister’s signed up to the national plan – not as an agreement with the Prime Minister or the Federal Government, but as a, a sacred trust with their own people to say: we can’t be locked up forever, we can’t be separated from families in the world forever.
That there is a way out. Because otherwise, if somebody’s saying there’s no way out, that, that would be the darkest and most deeply concerning of moments.
Now, I don’t believe that is the case. What do I believe? I think that Western Australia, you know, Western Australians want to be reunited with their, their family, their friends, their loved ones – that’s a very powerful motivation for a government, and I think that will weigh on the decisions of the WA Government. We just work constructively with them.
Lastly, I think it’s incredibly important that each person understands they are at risk. Inevitably, the virus will be everywhere – that’s what the international experience and epidemiology is, that’s the advice of the chief medical officer and all our medical advisors here. So we need to protect ourselves and protect each other.
And you know, as I say, 85 per cent of over 70s in WA with uncapped AstraZeneca, 90 per cent nationally. We can do this. But for everybody, this month, this September, let’s show Australia that, that everybody’s stepping up. And I think West Australian’s have been magnificent, so I want to thank them.
LIAM BARTLETT:
Minister, thanks a lot for your time this morning.
GREG HUNT:
Thanks a lot, Liam. You take care.
LIAM BARTLETT:
Bit of a clarion call there from the Health Minister, Greg Hunt, on the front foot this morning.
-ENDS-