Will the next vaccine approval be harder?

In news that has been eagerly awaited since the pandemic began, a coronavirus vaccine has finally been approved for use in Australia.

Yesterday, the Therapeutic Goods Administration gave the mRNA vaccine the thumbs up, paving the way for its rollout for key vulnerable groups.

But Australia won’t have enough Pfizer vaccine for the entire population, and is relying on the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine to fill the gaps.

So on today’s Coronacast, why the approval of the Astra vaccine might be a bit more of a challenge for the TGA than the Pfizer vaccine.

Also on today’s show:

* Will Australia be keeping enough supply from the first shipments to boost the people who receive the first vaccinations?

* How is «vulnerable» defined for the purposes of deciding who will get the Pfizer vaccine?

* Will I be able to choose which vaccine I receive?

And thank you for writing in about your coronavirus «ah-ha/oh-no» moment when you realised it was going to be A Thing. We go through some of your comments.

Tagged as: COVID-19, Coronacast.