COVID-19 Vaccine: Brad Hazzard slams federal government over 'mixed messages' on AstraZeneca

Confusion has reigned over AstraZeneca after the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation announced it was not the preferred jab for people under 60.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has since shifted his rhetoric on the jab in a bid to boost uptake, urging ATAGI to shift its advice and even implying people should risk lowered efficacy by speeding up their second dose.

And despite ATAGI shifting its advice in NSW, which recorded another 239 locally-acquired cases on Sunday, state Health Minister Brad Hazzard warned the shifting goalposts had undermined confidence in the jab.

"The mixed messaging that's come out of ATAGI and the federal government has not been helpful. It has definitely not been helpful," he told the ABC's Insiders.

"But having said that, I think the community are waking up that the one thing we can all do is have the vaccinations."

READ MORE COVID-19 NEWS:

NSW on Friday allowed all adults to book AstraZeneca jabs at its vaccination hubs, or seek the jab at participating pharmacies from this week.

And Mr Hazzard rubbished claims, reportedly from a federal government source, the state had declined a Commonwealth offer for a million extra AstraZeneca doses.

He said state-run hubs were well stocked with the vaccine, but NSW had in July written to Health Department Secretary Brendan Murphy to run supply via pharmacists and GPs.

"I'll make [it] very clear: that's rubbish," he said.

"The vaccines are there, we can draw them down. But ... we've made it very clear to our federal colleagues that the focus for vaccines, other than what we are doing in our state hubs, has to be to GPs and has to be pharmacists.

"We want it where people can use it, and we're getting it out through every possible avenue."

But Mr Hazzard offered an olive branch over the Commonwealth's vaccine procurement process, which came under fire after the national rollout was blighted by an undersupply of Pfizer.

He argued the federal government was signing contracts at a time when no coronavirus vaccine had ever been successfully developed.

"If you'd asked me last year at this time whether there would be any vaccine at all, my answer would have been: There was no coronavirus vaccine ever, so why would we necessarily have any?" he said.

"The federal government went out in a very Twilight Zone situation; they made the requests, they entered the contracts, and they've got the vaccines. But the problem for them is Pfizer is in short supply around the world."

About 40,000 Pfizer doses will be reallocated from regional NSW to Year 12 students in at-risk local government areas in Sydney, allowing them to sit their HSC exams.

The state government has also called for doses be diverted from other states and territories.

"We live in a Commonwealth, and it's a national requirement that the states who have issues should be able to get a greater amount of the Pfizer," he said.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: