The moment Dan Andrews loses it: Furious premier slams Scott Morrison for playing favourites with Covid-19 jab rollout and insists he signed up to a plan to ‘vaccinate Australia, not just Sydney’
- Victoria recorded 246 Covid-19 cases amid rush to vaccinate Year 12 students
- State’s Department of Health said only 90 linked to known cases and outbreaks
- Victoria aims to vaccinate all students with at least one dose before final exams
- Vaccination drive is part of a 10-day priority access scheme starting on Tuesday
A furious Daniel Andrews has taken another parting shot at Prime Minister Scott Morrison over the national vaccination rollout as Victoria’s latest coronavirus worsens.
The Victoria Premier is angry Covid-ravaged NSW is getting more than its fair share of jabs, arguing he signed up to a plan for the whole of Australia not just Sydney.
It comes as another 246 new Covid-19 cases were recorded in Victoria on Tuesday.
While the Premier acknowledged the NSW outbreak is much worse, he accused the government of giving preferential treatment.
‘We have seen hundreds of thousands of vaccines that should have come and now should be in the arms of Victorians going into Sydney,’ Mr Andrews said.
‘We don’t begrudge that Sydney is in a very different set of circumstances.’
‘But this was not announced. It was done without anyone knowing. The Commonwealth have got caught doing it. So it needs to stop.’
Only 90 of the 246 new cases were linked to known cases and outbreaks and 156 are still under investigation.
Victoria has recorded 246 new Covid-19 cases overnight. Pictured are a group of residents drinking beer from plastic cups in St Kilda in Melbourne on September 4
The race is on to get all all students in their final year of high school injected with at least one vaccination dose before their final exams, as part of a 10-day priority access scheme beginning on Tuesday.
Pfiser bookings opened for year 12 students, teachers, exam supervisors and assessors on Monday, with a dedicated hotline fielding 30,000 calls before lunch.
By Monday afternoon, the health department said more than 7,000 priority bookings had been made.
Health Minister Martin Foley said the system had been ‘hammered’ because of the ‘wild enthusiasm’ of the cohort of about 50,000 students.
Covid-19 commander Jeroen Weimar urged the group to stay patient, reminding year 11 students studying VCE subjects they had to wait until Wednesday to book.
‘Can I just assure every VCE student… there’s a dose set aside for you. There’s no frantic rush,’ he said.
Charlotte Sherlock, a Year 12 student at Brunswick Secondary College, rolled up her sleeve on Monday at the newly relocated Melbourne Museum vaccination site to promote the blitz.
Only 90 of Victoria’s 246 new Covid-19 cases are linked to known infections and outbreaks and 156 are still under investigation
‘I’ve finally got it now and I don’t have to worry about having to make phone calls and wait in lines,’ said the 17-year-old, who has missed more than 100 days of face-to-face learning.
Premier Daniel Andrews will this week outline a plan for Melbourne schools to reopen in term four, and he has also foreshadowed releasing parts of regional Victoria from lockdown.
Of the state’s 246 new cases on Monday, two were truck drivers who live in Mooroopna and Wodonga and contracted Covid-19 in NSW.
Brunswick Secondary College Year 12 student Charlotte Sherlock rolled up her sleeve on Monday at the newly-relocated Melbourne Museum vaccination site
Meanwhile, two apartment blocks in Plummer Street, Port Melbourne have been declared tier one exposure sites after an infected person or persons went to the premises between August 31 and Monday.
Residents must get tested and isolate for 14 days.
Melbourne will remain under tough lockdown restrictions until at least 70 per cent of eligible Victorians receive their first vaccine dose.
The state has hit 60 per cent first dose coverage and is expected to reach the 70 per cent target by about September 19, sooner than the government anticipated.
A teacher is pictured wearing a mask as she teaches a class at Melbourne’s Melba Secondary College on October 12. Victoria is aiming to get all students in their final year of high school vaccinated with at least one dose before their final exams
Australian states are meanwhile locked in a battle for vaccine doses with NSW accused of grabbing more than their fair share of jabs.
Pfizer vaccines that arrive in the country are distributed to each state and territory based on population size – with more populous states getting more doses.
However, there appears to be an uneven playing field as Victoria is only receiving 66 per cent of what NSW is allocated – despite population figures indicating they should receive 82 per cent – with the difference going back into Sydney.
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