Health worker in Papua New Guinea. Image tweeted by Natalie Whiting, ABC PNG Correspondent
Medical research institutes, including Burnet, have joined NGOs and Church groups in seeking strong, additional support for PNG’s COVID-19 emergency from the Australian Government, warning the intervention is “urgently” needed.
Australia urged to send 1 million vaccines to PNG https://t.co/lYbHaZJu4P
The Australian Council for International Development, ACFID, of which Burnet is a committed member, has welcomed the recent indication in Senate Estimates that the Australian Government will move beyond the immediate 8,480 allocation of vaccines to PNG.
ACFID CEO Marc Purcell said comments by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Senator, the Hon. Marise Payne, that all options are on the table for supplying vaccines to PNG, including the use of domestically manufactured AstraZeneca vaccines, was positive, but the need was urgent.