First batch of Moderna doses arriving in Sydney on Friday night

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The first batch of one million Moderna vaccines will arrive in Sydney on Friday night, with a second shipment scheduled for the weekend, and will be distributed to states and territories next week.

Health Minister Greg Hunt said 1,800 pharmacies will start giving people the Moderna vaccine next week and 4,500 GPs will be involved the following week.

Workplace vaccination programs are also expected to primarily use Pfizer, but manage Moderna.

“These are very important because they not only provide more vaccines, but also more access points for Australians everywhere,” the Health Minister told reporters on Friday. “By the end of October, if not a little early, all Australians have enough vaccine.”

The Therapeutic Goods Department tests each batch on arrival. Hunt notes that more supplies will be planned in the coming weeks.

Australia has agreed on 25 million Moderna doses, including the current 10 million vaccines and 15 million booster shots.

It is primarily available in pharmacies throughout Australia and is eligible for a two-dose course for all people between the ages of 12 and 59.

A 4-6 week gap between doses is recommended.

Like Pfizer, Moderna is a messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine that uses a genetic code called RNA to direct the body to produce specific spike proteins of the new coronavirus.

“When mRNA enters a cell in the body, the cell uses the instructions contained in the RNA to make a spike protein. After that, immune cells recognize the spike protein as a foreign substance and begin to build an immune response to it. “Most,” said the Australian Health Department. I got it..

In a statement, Modern followed participants for two years and collected additional data such as “long-term safety follow-up, protection against COVID-19, efficacy against asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection”. I said.

Australia is currently above the 70 percent threshold for first-time vaccinated adults, according to the Minister of Health. The road to reopening the country involves achieving 70-80 percent complete vaccination to release and remove restrictions on freedom.

As of Friday afternoon, 50.6 percent of the population over the age of 16 had two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine and 81.2 percent had the first dose. 7 news..

AAP contributed to this report.

Nina Nguyen

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