South Pacific

The federal government says it has ordered enough of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which will mostly be manufactured in Australia, to cover the country’s population of 25 million people.

Australia last week approved the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for use for people aged 16 years and older, and expects to begin inoculation at 80,000 doses per week by the end of February.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she still expected supplies of the Pfizer-BioNTech product to arrive in the country by end-March, but expressed concern at any attempt to limit exports.

Vaccination of priority groups with the Pfizer vaccine is expected to begin in late February at 80,000 doses per week.

The government of Australia has signed an advanced agreement to purchase 51 million doses of Novavax Inc's experimental COVID-19 vaccine.

Australia

The government plans to complete a mass inoculation programme for its 25 million citizens by the end of this year.

New research has revealed almost a quarter of Australians are not confident in the development of an effective vaccine against COVID-19.

Expensive drugs to treat cancer and other health problems have been added to the PBS which will save patients hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Australia reimburses new blood cancer drug.

Immigration New Zealand (INZ) denied his application on the grounds he did not have an acceptable standard of health.

A lung cancer drug that could save or extend the lives of 1000 Australians will have its cost slashed in the new year going from $90,000 per year to as low as $6.60 per script.

Australia had ordered 51 million doses of vaccine under joint development by CSL Ltd., University of Queensland.

Southern Cross covered about $80,000 of the $105,000 medical costs for Poonia’s treatment, which included chemotherapy and surgery.

Southern Cross Health Insurance is inviting policyholders to upgrade their policies to boost their cover for cancer treatments not funded by Pharmac.