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Scott Morrison says he was “misunderstood” over expectations all Australians would be fully vaccinated by the end of October, saying he meant Australians would have received their first dose by then.
Health Department secretary Brendan Murphy on Thursday poured cold water on the government’s aim to have all Australians vaccinated by October deadline, admitting the rollout could drag into next year.
Just hours before, the prime minister said it was the government’s “hope and … expectation” the October deadline would be met.
But Mr Morrison, who has repeatedly spruiked the timeline, claimed on Friday he had never said all Australians would receive both required shots by then.
When asked by a reporter about the apparent inconsistencies in the government’s statements on the October time frame, Mr Morrison was adamant.
“No, no you’re misunderstanding me: The first dose will be administered by the end of October. That’s what I meant,” Mr Morrison said.
The reporter shot back: “When are you going to be honest with people?”
“I am being, right now,” the PM retorted
“The information we have been given has not been consistent,” the reporter said.
“I totally reject that,” Mr Morrison said. “We were clear a month ago that the October deadline would not include the second dose.”
But that comment differs to statements he made earlier in the year.
The prime minister told Sky News on February 1 the government planned to “get through it all” by October, and that “we might get there even sooner”.
Three days later, he told news.com.au: “By October, we anticipate that we would have worked right through the population.”
But he said revelations in February the AstraZeneca jab was more effective after 12 weeks, rather than four as initially expected, had forced a recalculation.
Mr Morrison said he “totally rejected” suggestions his messaging had been unclear.
He claimed Health Minister Greg Hunt confirmed on February 16 that administering second doses by the end of October “wouldn’t be possible”.
“We were clear a month ago that the October deadline would not include the second dose,” he said.
“(Greg Hunt) said that a month ago, and that’s what Professor Murphy said yesterday.”
But Mr Hunt did not rule out second doses being administered by the October deadline, only saying the government would “look at what (the development) means in regards to the second dose”.
He did, however, confirm that Australians could “at least” be assured of a first dose by then.
Qantas CEO Alan Joyce stood alongside Mr Morrison on Thursday, saying the airliner’s assumptions were based on the assumption “we have the full adult population vaccinated” by October.
“We’ve been assuming (the rollout) is working … I think the government’s plan (is) that 20 million people are vaccinated by the end of October,” he said.
The government had ordered over 3 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, but has been stymied by supply chain issues in Europe.
Mr Morrison said 300,000 doses had been distributed across Australia, with another 400,000 to go out imminently, but conceded that figure was “a lot less than we anticipated”.
“That obviously has an impact on the amount of doses available in the early stages of the rollout,” he said.
The government has predicted one million vaccines will be administered a week once jabs produced onshore entered circulation later this month.
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