• Australia is not pursuing a deal for COVID-19 vaccines from supplier Johnson & Johnson, despite changes to the nation’s AstraZeneca rollout.
• A spokesperson for Health Minister Greg Hunt said Australia’s requirements for an adenovirus vaccine were already met by AstraZeneca, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.
• The news comes amid heightened scrutiny of the Federal Government’s vaccine supply deals and Australia’s lagging rollout.
• Visit Business Insider Australia’s homepage for more stories.

Australian health officials have ruled out ordering doses of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine to bolster the nation’s troubled rollout scheme, saying the adenovirus jab is too similar to the AstraZeneca formulation.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports a spokesperson for Health Minister Greg Hunt confirmed the Federal Government’s position Monday night, saying the nation’s adenovirus vaccine needs are already met by the AstraZeneca shot.

“The government does not intend to purchase any further adenovirus vaccines at this time,” the spokesperson said.

The Herald also notes Johnson & Johnson have called for a no-fault compensation scheme, which could allow recipients harmed by any potential vaccine side effects to seek damages directly from the government.

Australia is yet to formally agree to such a scheme, meaning access to the one-shot Johnson & Johnson jab — which has been rolled out widely in nations like the US — is currently off the cards.

The latest statement comes as Australia’s immunisation scheme reels from the loss of AstraZeneca as a preferred vaccine option for those under 50.

On Thursday, Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly advised the AstraZeneca vaccine is no longer recommended for younger Australians due to its potential links to rare blood clots.

The move diminished the AstraZeneca vaccine’s status as the go-to shot for millions of Australians, leading the Federal Government to officially abandon its prior target of vaccinating every eligible adult by the end of 2020.

AstraZeneca’s relegation also renewed the focus on Australia’s other vaccine agreements.

The Federal Government last week announced it has secured another 20 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine — an mRNA vaccine — bringing the nation’s stockpile to 40 million doses.

But Prime Minister Scott Morrison also conceded the extra tranche of Pfizer doses will not arrive on Australian shores until the final months of the year.

Australia is also in line to receive some 51 million doses of the Novavax protein vaccine through 2021, although the vaccine is yet to receive Therapeutic Goods Administration approval, as the Pfizer and AstraZeneca shots have done.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Professor Kelly said government officials “continue to talk” with mRNA vaccine manufacturer to Moderna over their formulation.

“They remain on the table as an option,” Professor Kelly added.

But Australia is yet to reveal any concrete deal with the company, which the Federal Government initially eschewed for Pfizer when choosing its primary mRNA candidate in 2020.

Further vaccine doses are nominally available to Australia through the COVAX Facility.

As of Sunday, 1,178,302 vaccine doses have been administered in Australia, with just 12,227 jabs delivered in the 24 hours prior.

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