‘We're nothing like the rest of the world’: Australian disease physician says they ‘certainly don't want to rush’ Covid vaccine

An Australian infectious disease physician shot down calls for the country to roll out a Covid-19 vaccination program faster than planned, arguing that Australia is in a different position to other nations.

“We need to make sure due process is followed so we're absolutely sure it's the right thing to do, to use these vaccines, and they're as safe and effective as they look like they are,” Dr Paul Griffin – who works as the Director of Infectious Diseases at Mater Health Services in Queensland – told Sky News Australia on Wednesday.

Griffin explained that Australia then needs to put the vaccines through its own “regulatory processes” to ensure that the current data applies to the Australian population like it has in the United States, United Kingdom, and other countries.

“We certainly don't want to rush it,” Griffin declared, adding that although Covid-19 is a problem in Australia like anywhere else,

We're nothing like most of the rest of the world.

“So in reality, I think it's important that we follow those processes and we don't rush this part,” the physician said, concluding that the effort should not compromise “any of our usual checks and balances.”

Australia is expected to start vaccinating its population against Covid-19 in early March – months behind other Western countries – after moving the date forward by two weeks.

Compared to other Western countries, Australia has had very few cases of Covid-19. Just 28,536 cases and 909 deaths have been confirmed, with the majority of cases being recorded in Melbourne and the wider state of Victoria.

In comparison, the United States – the most affected country in the world – has recorded over 21 million cases and 357,000 deaths. India, Brazil, Russia, the United Kingdom follow the list with millions of cases, with many more recording cases in the hundreds of thousands.

Since the start of the pandemic, Australia has implemented strict lockdown and quarantine procedures, locking down states, closing its borders, and cracking down on unnecessary travel – allowing the country to experience a level of normality that was not seen elsewhere in 2020.

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