The Australian government has announced they are securing access to COVID-19 vaccines for Australia, the Pacific and Southeast Asia through a range of advance purchase agreements with manufacturers and through participation in the multilateral COVAX Facility.
A statement today says through a regional vaccine access and health security initiative, the Australian Government will provide a range of support including supplying safe and effective vaccine doses and delivering technical support to our regional partners.
Australia says it will assist with an assessment of vaccine safety, efficacy and quality by national regulatory authorities, informed by World Health Organisation advice.
They are committing an additional 500 million Australian dollars over three years towards this effort on top of the 23.2 million Australian dollars committed in the Budget.
The funding will further help ensure that the countries of the Pacific and Timor-Leste are able to achieve full immunisation coverage, and will make a significant contribution toward meeting the needs of Southeast Asia.
It says the funding is in addition to the Australian Government’s support through the COVAX facility and the Australian Government’s existing Advance Purchase Agreements with Astra Zeneca-Oxford and CSL-University of Queensland.
The Australian government further says ensuring countries in the region can quickly recover from the health and economic impacts of this devastating global pandemic are vital to ensuring our shared economic future in the post-pandemic world.
It says a fast, safe vaccine roll-out in the Pacific and Southeast Asia will mean they are able to return to more normal travel, tourism and trade with our key partners in the region.
This initiative is separate from, and additional to, Australia’s ongoing international development assistance budget.
The funding complements Australia’s support for global efforts to help our region to access vaccines, including through the COVAX Facility and its Advance Market Commitment (AMC) for developing countries.
Australia has already committed 123.2 million Australian dollars to the COVAX Facility to secure access to vaccines for Australians and help bring down prices for all countries and has contributed 80 million Australian dollars to the Facility’s AMC for the benefit of high-risk populations in developing countries.
The Australian Government has also entered into Advanced Purchase Agreements with Astra Zeneca-Oxford and CSL-University of Queensland for over 84 million units of vaccines, which Australia is able to donate to partners in the Pacific and Southeast Asia, should these vaccines prove safe and effective, and units are available above domestic needs.
