Anti-COVID-19 vaccination protests held in Australia ahead of rollout

Anti-vaccination protesters have gathered across Australia ahead of the launch of the country's coronavirus vaccination programme.

Protests were held in cities including Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, with participants chanting slogans like: "My body, my choice."

Australian media report the rallies were largely peaceful, but police made several arrests in Melbourne.

The national rollout of the Pfizer vaccine is set to begin tomorrow.

Australia's medical regulator earlier this week also granted provisional approval for the vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University, which is expected to be rolled out next month.

Both vaccines have undergone extensive safety checks and are already being used in several countries.

According to broadcaster ABC, the rallies were joined by a few thousand people in total.

In Melbourne, some protesters clashed with police, who used pepper spray and made several arrests.

Australia has recorded just under 29,000 cases, and 909 deaths since the pandemic began.

[Source: BBC]