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Australia’s vaccine rollout is “on track” after a second delivery of Pfizer vaccines arrived in the country on Tuesday.
Health Minister Greg Hunt said the development gave him confidence in the reliability of supply from Europe.
“The consistency of supply has been strong and heartening,” Hunt said.
More than 120,000 doses of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine was in the second shipment.
Aged care resident Jane Malysiak from Marayong in New South Wales was the first Australian to receive the vaccine.
A Polish-born World War II survivor and former corner store owner, Malysiak sat next to Prime Minister Scott Morrison to get the first of the two Pfizer jabs at a Sydney medical clinic on Sunday.
She urged other Australians to join the vaccine queue and told reporters “it’s just a needle… I didn’t even feel it” when asked about the experience afterwards.
The second Australian to get the injection was John Healy, also an aged care resident. Among the other 20 Aussies to receive the vaccinations in Castle Hill on Sunday were nurses, doctors, disability support residents and hotel quarantine workers.
Gold Coast nurse Zoe Park was the first person in Queensland to receive the vaccine.
Park, who works in the COVID-19 ward, said she felt “a lot safer going to work” now she had the shot.
“It’s a very exciting time for all healthcare workers in Queensland,” she said.
“And it didn’t hurt at all… I hardly felt it. The flu shot hurt a lot more.”
The first Canberran to get her shot, registered nurse Maddy Williams, agreed that it was less noticeable than a flu shot.
Hotel quarantine nurses Keita Winks and Antonia Garza were the first West Australians to receive a dose of the vaccine at the Hyatt Regency hotel on Monday morning.
Morrison got a jab on Sunday – he was twelfth in line overall. He was joined by Australia’s chief medical officer and chief nursing and midwifery officer.
Around 60,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine are scheduled to be administered to priority populations this week.
Morrison’s office said aged care residents and quarantine and border workers were on track to be vaccinated by April 2021. Vaccination teams are slated to visit 240 aged care facilities this week to deliver the vaccines on-site.
Over the weekend, the Australian Government again said that under its plan all Australians will be offered a COVID-19 vaccine by the end of October 2021.
The vaccine rollout will include the AstraZeneca/Oxford jab from next month.
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