Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and Covid-19 Taskforce Commander Lieutenant-General John Frewen will meet with business leaders today to try and find ways to speed up Australia’s vaccination roll out.
The meeting will seek to establish a framework that allows businesses to administer vaccines to employees and help “consistent messaging on the vaccine rollout”.
The meeting will be attended by groups including the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Business Council of Australia, the Australian Industry Group, the National Farmers’ Federation and the Council of Small Business Organisations of Australia as well as supermarket chains, Coles and Woolworths, the big four banks, airlines including Qantas and Virgin, as well as telco giants Telstra and Optus.
Mr Frydenberg said while Australia’s economy has been resilient throughout the pandemic, there is more to do, particularly in accelerating the covid vaccine roll out across the country.
“Throughout the pandemic we have partnered with the business community and we are looking to do so again to roll out the vaccine in a safe and efficient manner,” he said.
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Mr Frydenberg said the “main purpose of the meeting is to identify the opportunities and barriers to enable business and industry to support and participate in the vaccine rollout to get as many Australians vaccinated.”
The meeting will aim to decide how business can engage with the vaccine program, produce strategies to focus on regional areas, ensure consistent messaging on the vaccine rollout, and agree to a National Business Partnership Wargaming Session to be held in the next fortnight to involve business and industry in program planning.
“Today the economy is bigger than what is was before Covid and there are more Australians in work than ever before with the unemployment rate at 5.1 per cent,” he said. “But there is more to be done and crucial to the economic recovery will be the continued rollout of
the vaccine.”
On Friday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison and the national cabinet changed the focus of handling the pandemic from suppression of case numbers to how to live with the virus.
Business groups were disappointed with the announcement that international arrival caps would be slashed in half and remain low until a greater proportion of the population is vaccinated.
Last week Business Council of Australia chief executive Jennifer Westacott was among business leaders who said that major companies were in a good position to vaccinate their staff against the coronavirus, like they do with the flu.
Innes Willox, chief executive of the Australian Industry Group, said for this to happen the Commonwealth would have to provide the same indemnity against adverse reactions being extended to pharmaceutical companies, doctors and individuals.
“This would free businesses to be more active proponents of vaccinations and it would clear the way for workplace-based vaccinations along the lines of the flu vaccine program,” he said.
In a press conference on Tuesday, Lieutenant General John Frewen said partnering with businesses could mean Australian workers would be able to receive the vaccine in the office by September.
“Around September and October, when we have greater access to the vaccines, that’s when workplace vaccination can open up” Lieutenant Frewen told reporters.
“It takes burden off both the primary healthcare system and some of the state mechanisms.
“Many of these industries already do anti-flu vaccinations.”
Lieutenant Frewen emphasised many workplaces already had preselected nurses who administered the flu vaccine to their workers every year.
“They’re used to vaccinating their workforce,” he said.
The main limiter to at-work vaccination would be vaccine availability, Lieutenant Frewen said.
He said states would decide who would be allowed to administer vaccines at work, and Pfizer would be the vaccine of choice.
However, Australians were assured that only “appropriately qualified people” would be permitted to administer the vaccines.
After a meeting with state and territory leaders, General Frewen said options like drive through vaccine clinics and mass vaccination hubs are options under consideration.
“All of those options are under discussion you know, very interestingly, the states and territories have employed different ones of these so today one of the things we spoke about was learning from each other and learning from each of the jurisdictions on what works best and what might be the best way for us to bring some of those things into play across the jurisdiction,” he said.
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