Good news, everyone! Australia is halfway through its vaccination roll out.
The latest vaccination data shows that 50.2 per cent of people above the age of 16 have had at one dose of the vaccine, with 28.2 per cent fully vaccinated.
In total, more than 16 million doses have been administered nationwide, with just under 2 million in the past week.
Australia is now vaccinating at a rate of 2.4 million people per week across a 10-day rolling average meaning we should hit our vaccination target of 80 per cent fully vaccinated by mid-late November.
While it’s all been a bit doom and gloom around the pandemic news cycle this week, there are increasing reports such as this one that suggest it may all be over soon.
The Delta spread is worsening across much of the country, resulting in governments appearing to turn away from zero-cases policies and towards vaccination as our way out of the pandemic.
As such, the vaccination rate has increased dramatically over the past month. Australia has managed to secure an extra one million doses — half of which are targeted at Western Sydney — and vaccine supplies from Moderna and Pfizer will be ramped up in the coming months.
Individuals have made a phenomenal effort to get their jabs, with young people alone having received 130,000 doses of AstraZeneca in the past week. Records continue to be broken as Australia recorded 309,010 vaccines administered on Wednesday alone.
In addition, Australia has just opened access to Pfizer jabs for those between the ages of 16 and 39, with bookings available from August 30. That’s about 8.6 million people.
While the TGA has approved the Pfizer vaccine for use in people between the ages of 12 to 16, we are still waiting on advice from the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation, ATAGI, on when they might be able to get the jabs.
That decision is thought to be made “imminently,” according to the Prime Minister.
While our vaccination rates only include those above the age of 16, getting young people vaccinated will be key to wiping out the coronavirus.
Children aged 12 to 15 years old who are Indigenous or who have an underlying health condition can already access the Pfizer vaccine.
Freedoms are expected to be restored as Australia hits certain vaccination numbers, with the government eyeing 70 and 80 per cent as key milestones for opening up.
That will require all states and territories to hit those figures. Currently, the ACT has the highest percentage of first doses administered, with 56.4 per cent of its population having had at least one dose. WA has the lowest rate, with 43.9 per cent of its population having had at least one dose.
Read more stories from The Latch and subscribe to our email newsletter.