Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced a huge change to the national vaccine rollout for people aged under 40. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced Australians aged 16 to 39 will be able to access Pfizer vaccines from August 30. While younger people cannot yet make a booking, Mr Morrison said more details would be revealed soon. “So that’s 8.6 million extra getting access to the program at the end of August,” Mr Morrison told reporters on Thursday.

He also said authorities were continuing to work on a way to implement a vaccination program for children aged 12 to 15. “We’ll have further things to say about that once we’ve received at least that interim ATAGI advice, then they will give us their full advice and we’ll be taking further steps there,” the Prime Minister said. “I just want to assure particularly parents, vaccinating children is something we take really seriously and we do it very carefully. “One of the most effective ways of stopping the spread of Covid-19 to children is for parents themselves to be vaccinated.”

Mr Morrison said 16.2 million vaccines had been administered in Australia so far. Health Minister Greg Hunt said 50.2 per cent of Australians, or 10.3 million people, had received their first dose among the eligible population. NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has said the goal of zero cases of Covid-19 is no longer achievable, despite other state leaders indicating a different position. The Prime Minister said the idea that there would not be a single case of coronavirus in Australia, including in hotel quarantine or isolation, was never a goal.

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