Australia one of only 20 nations producing a COVID vaccine

Australia is in a “wonderful position” right now concerning the vaccine rollout despite setbacks caused by some European countries stopping AstraZeneca exports to Australia according to Department of Health Secretary Brendan Murphy. “Only 20 countries in the world are making vaccines and we are one of them," he told Sky News. The Morrison government’s contract with AstraZeneca to deliver 3.8 million doses of the vaccine has not yet been completed with only 700,000 doses reaching Australian shores. Mr Murphy said fortunately the nation’s rollout strategy did not rely solely on vaccines from Europe but instead on a domestic supply produced in Victoria by CSL.