Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt has blessed our Sunday with a touch of good news, saying he’s feeling “genuinely optimistic” about getting a coronavirus vaccine in Australia by next year.
Speaking on Sky News, he explained that the search for a vaccine is starting to look a bit brighter around the world, and that the government’s already making arrangements to produce a successful candidate.
“I had been very cautious in the past about the prospect of a vaccine,” he said.
“I am now, on the basis of our best medical advice, genuinely more optimistic.
“I think the world is moving closer to a vaccine, and it’s unlikely that it’ll be just one, it’ll be many.”
He added that the government is in “advanced negotiations” with a range of different pharmaceutical companies to produce vaccines right here in Australia.
The Sunday Telegraph reports the main company is believed to be UK-based AstraZeneca, which is promoting a vaccine designed by Oxford University researchers.
Just days earlier, the European Union also signed an agreement with AstraZeneca to buy 300 million doses if and when it becomes available.
Other countries have also been rushing to snap up dose allocations, including for the Russian candidate due to enter production later this month.
“If anything occurs before [2021], then that would be an outstanding result, not just for Australia but for the world,” Hunt added.
“For the first time I feel cautiously but genuinely optimistic about the prospect of a vaccine.
“We’re advanced, we’re prepared and we’re in a position to produce.”
