Steve Price has shared his opinions about the COVID-19 vaccine roll-out on Wednesday’s episode of The Project.
It is no secret frontline healthcare workers and the elderly community will be first in line to get the necessary vaccine, but Price believes that this will cause “discrimination” against younger people who will have to wait a lot longer to get the jab.
“Steve, do you agree that you should be getting the vaccine over a 20-something-year-old?” asked host Waleed Aly.
“I’m not quite at the top of the list, they are starting at 80-plus. I think most of us were surprised to learn this morning that they are going to limit the vaccinations for people under the age of say 60, and the 20-year-olds won’t get it until later in the year. I would have thought once you got all essential workers, frontline health care workers and the elderly vaccinated then it would be a free-for-all but apparently that is not going to happen,” said Price.
“It does. Particularly given what happened with the aged care in Victoria in particular where tragically we lost many people. I don’t think most Australians were prepared to think that there was going to be vaccination discrimination, that you are 25 years old, come say April or May next year you won’t be able to get on a plane but if you are my age, 65 years old you will be able to fly.
“I’m not sure how they are going to work that out and there is a lot of questions to be asked about exactly who is going to get this and when,” Price continued.
Reports have emerged on Wednesday stating simply that people will be separated into 12 age groups for the rollout of the coronavirus vaccine.
The government’s blueprint says that the first group that will be prioritised is those at risk of serious illness and those with chronic diseases.
Paul Kelly revealed that people on the frontline such as health and aged care workers would be second.
“The third priority will be essential workers that are needed to keep our society going,” Professor Kelly said, adding international airline crew would also be up the top of the list.
“Our aim for 2021 is to have anyone in Australia who wants to get this vaccine, vaccinated, and so yes there will be a queue.”
Australia signed a deal to buy 10 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine, which is enough to cover five million people for the two required doses.
The nation’s vaccine roll-out won’t begin until March 2021.
