Moderna Covid vaccine approved for Australia - here's what you need to know
Moderna's Covid-19 vaccine has moved a step closer to going into Australians' arms with the medicines regulator giving provisional approval.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Monday announced Moderna had been granted Therapeutic Goods Administration provisional approval, joining Pfizer and AstraZeneca in Australia's vaccine armoury.
The government has secured 25 million doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, including the supply of 10 million doses in 2021 and 15 million doses of its updated variant booster vaccine in 2022.
Moderna is seeking to make its vaccine available to Australians as young as 12, but could also use Australia as a trial country for vaccinating children as young as six months.
Around one million doses are slated to arrive next month.
That will ramp up to three million in October, while bigger Pfizer shipments are also on the way with two million doses a week set to land from September.
"This is another important tool that we have in our battle against Covid," Mr Morrison said.
"We'll have it in our hands and we will have the jabs in our arms starting next month."
Vaccine lottery discussed
Mr Morrison earlier ruled out enlisting Tabcorp to run a lottery for people who are vaccinated against coronavirus.
The prime minister did not dispute reports senior government officials sought advice from the gambling giant about the design of a lottery.
"We are not proceeding with any arrangement like that with Tabcorp," he told parliament.
Labor has called for every person who receives both doses by December to be handed one-off $300 payments.
Mr Morrison has fiercely opposed the $6 billion plan and argues offering people extra motivation to be immunised is not immediately necessary.
"The government has got no issues with incentives - what we have a problem with is bad policy."
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Defence Minister Peter Dutton last month expressed support for a lottery but noted Tabcorp had pointed out it would need regulatory approval and someone to pay for it.
Mr Morrison had been open to the idea, while vaccine rollout commander John Frewen last week raised a lottery after the opposition sparked debate over incentives.
Lotteries have been used across the United States with prizes of up to $1 million.
Labor's health spokesman Mark Butler said other countries started using Moderna before the government entered talks with the company.
"Australia has the lowest vaccination rate in the developed world, all because Scott Morrison has been so slow to act in procuring deals with Pfizer and Moderna," he told reporters in Adelaide.
Australia has fully vaccinated 22.5 per cent of people aged 16 and over with 13.7 million doses administered since February.
The coronavirus crisis in NSW continues with 283 new local infections and one death reported on Monday.
There are 70 people in intensive care nationally with 67 of those in NSW.
Tamworth will be locked down after an infectious person visited multiple places in the regional centre.
Victoria recorded 11 new cases but none in regional parts of the state, which will be released from lockdown on Tuesday.
Cairns is on high alert for new cases after starting a three-day lockdown because of an infected taxi driver.
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