More than half of Australians aged 16 and over are fully vaccinated against COVID-19

Australia has reached 50.15 per cent double-dose vaccination coverage for all people aged 16 and above, while almost 75 per cent have received at least one jab.

A nurse prepares a Pfizer COVID-19 vaccination at the Belmore Medical GP in the suburb of Belmore, Sydney, Saturday, 28 August, 2021.

A nurse prepares a Pfizer COVID-19 vaccination at the Belmore Medical GP in the suburb of Belmore, Sydney, Saturday, 28 August, 2021. Source: AAP

More than half of Australia's population aged 16 and above has been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. 

A record 347,796 doses were administered in the past 24 hours, fuelling the milestone as the nation edges towards 70 and 80 per cent coverage targets.

Almost three-quarters of people 16 and over have received at least a first dose.
Chief Nursing Officer Alison McMillan urged anyone in the remaining 25 per cent to get vaccinated so Australia could return to normal life.

"We should all be incredibly grateful and proud of what we are achieving as a country," she told reporters in Canberra on Friday.

"Each time anybody gets a vaccine, it takes us a step closer to those things that we are all missing for all of us who continue to be under restrictions."
Vaccine rollout co-ordinator John Frewen said Australia would receive its full allocation of 11 million Pfizer and Moderna mRNA vaccines in October despite concerns of a shortfall.

Lieutenant General Frewen said Pfizer had confirmed delivery schedules across the month after a global distribution issue was solved.

National cabinet was last week warned October's Pfizer supplies could be up to 2.5 million below what was originally planned.

"At that stage we only had the first two weeks - and what we received in the first two weeks was half of what we were anticipating," Lieutenant General Frewen said.

"Pfizer have now said they will make up the full month's allocation across week three and, we expect, week four."
Outbreaks in NSW and Victoria continue to rage, with more than 1,700 new cases in Australia's most populous states on Friday.

A man who attended Wednesday's anti-lockdown protest in Melbourne

There were , while Victoria reported 733 cases and another fatality.

NSW - where 57.8 per cent have been fully vaccinated - is on track to reach the nationally agreed targets ahead of COVID-free states such as Queensland and Western Australia.

Victoria and South Australia are about 46.5 per cent, while Queensland and WA are hovering at 44 per cent.

The ACT - which like NSW and Victoria remains in lockdown - leads the nation with 59.5 per cent double-dose coverage, while Tasmania has reached 55.1 per cent.

The NT is on 50 per cent.


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3 min read
Published 24 September 2021 6:39pm
Updated 24 September 2021 7:09pm
Source: AAP, SBS

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