Australia Begins Covid-19 Vaccination, PM Scott Morrison Receives First Injection

JAKARTA - Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine jointly developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, when the country started its inoculation program a day ahead of schedule.

Up to 4 million Australians are expected to receive the COVID-19 vaccine voluntarily in March, with Morrison and Paul Kelly, the country's chief medical officer, among a small group of Australians to receive their first vaccination.

"We are here making some very important points [...] that vaccines are safe and important, and we have to start with those who are most vulnerable on the front lines," Morrison said moments before the cameras captured his image of being the first to be injected with the vaccine. at a medical center in Sydney, reported Antara, Sunday, February 21.

Inoculated doses of Pfizer, which need to be kept below freezing, are still being distributed to 16 vaccine centers across Australia in preparation for the broader vaccine rollout on Monday, February 22.

A small number of elderly Australians at Castle Hill Medical Center in western Sydney, elderly care staff, and nurses and frontline workers were among the group injected on Sunday, officials said.

Still according to local officials, Australia recorded a second day without a single new transmission of COVID-19 among its people.

Most of Australia's population will be injected with the AstraZeneca vaccine by the end of October.

But on Saturday, February 20, thousands of people attended anti-vaccine rallies in Australia's major cities to protest what they believe is mandatory vaccination.

Australia has reported just under 29,000 cases of COVID-19 and 909 deaths since March 2020. The country is in the top 10 on the COVID-19 performance index.