By Ahmet Gencturk
ANKARA (AA) – Australia on Monday granted provisional approval to Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine for individuals aged 18 and over, the country's Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) said.
"This messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine is provisionally approved and included in the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG) for active immunisation," it said in a statement, adding: "It is recommended that the vaccine is given in two doses that are administered 28 days apart."
The press release said that the vaccine has shown strong efficacy preventing symptomatic COVID-19 and severe COVID-19 in clinical trials.
Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine has also received regulatory approval or emergency authorization in several countries including the UK, Canada, EU, US, Switzerland and Singapore.
- 'Shot in the arm'
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the approval would provide "another shot in the arm" for Australia’s vaccination rollout.
In a statement, he said the decision will take the country "one step closer" to reaching 70% of Australians, aged over 16, vaccinated before the end of the year.
“Now we have Moderna, Pfizer and AstraZeneca available as well as more doctors, more nurses and more pharmacists to help get jabs in arms,” he added.
He said that the government has already secured 25 million Moderna doses, with the first million expected to arrive in September. "Planning is underway for these vaccines to rollout through approved pharmacies and other providers," he said.
A total of 10 million doses will be dispatched to Australia in 2021, and a further 15 million booster doses in the first half of 2022.
“Today’s approval is a further important step forward for Australia’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout," said Minister for Health and Aged Care Greg Hunt.
Australia has reported 36,630 cases and 940 related deaths, with the states of New South Wales (NSW), Victoria and Queensland being under strict lockdown due to the spread of highly infectious Delta variant.
Morrison is under fire for a sluggish vaccine rollout, with only 18% of Australians fully vaccinated. "I know Australians are frustrated. I know they're sick of it. I know they're angry ... but "there are no shortcuts here," he told reporters in Canberra.
He said the Delta strain has made it clear "that we have to get through the suppression phase and keep it at bay as best as we can," urging people in the areas under lockdown, to "please stay at home."