Damon Mcknight
Australia has entered into agreements with several pharmaceutical companies for the supply of COVID-19 vaccines, including Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Novavax, Moderna, and COVAX. While the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are manufactured overseas, the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine has been manufactured in Australia by CSL-Seqirus, with the first doses released in late March 2021. The Australian government purchased 50 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which is being produced at two sites in suburban Melbourne. In addition to the imported and locally manufactured vaccines, Australia also conducted its first human trials of a COVID-19 vaccine candidate in May 2020, with Novavax's NVX-CoV2373. However, Novavax ceased manufacturing their ancestral vaccine in early 2022, and their XBB.1.5 vaccine application was withdrawn in May 2024.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Vaccines Manufactured in Australia | AstraZeneca (recombinant adenovirus vaccine) |
| Number of Doses Manufactured | 50 million |
| Manufacturer | CSL-Seqirus |
| Manufacturer Location | Melbourne, Australia |
| Manufacturer Sites | CSL-Behring Australia in Broadmeadows, Seqirus in Parkville |
| Vaccine Effectiveness | 95.6% effective against COVID-19, 86.3% effective against the UK variant |
| Vaccines Not Manufactured in Australia | Pfizer, Moderna, Novavax |
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What You'll Learn
The Pfizer vaccine
In November 2020, the Australian government agreed to purchase 10 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine, facing production problems and delivery issues due to export controls imposed by the European Union. In September 2021, the Australian government received 4 million Pfizer doses from the UK as part of a dose-sharing partnership.
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The AstraZeneca vaccine
The Australian government has entered into agreements with several pharmaceutical companies for the supply of COVID-19 vaccines, including AstraZeneca. The AstraZeneca vaccine, also known as VAXZEVRIA, is a recombinant adenovirus vaccine.
The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) provisionally approved the AstraZeneca vaccine in February 2021, and it received final approval in March 2021. The Australian government has purchased 50 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which is being manufactured on their behalf by CSL. CSL has facilities in Broadmeadows and Parkville, Victoria, and is responsible for manufacturing the active raw vaccine material, while Seqirus, a CSL company, fills and packages the final vaccine doses in Parkville.
The TGA's approval of CSL-Seqirus to manufacture the AstraZeneca vaccine in Australia was a critical milestone in the country's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This approval ensured that the locally manufactured vaccine had the same composition, performance, quality, and purity as the overseas-manufactured vaccine.
The availability of the AstraZeneca vaccine in Australia has faced some challenges. In Phase 1B of the vaccination program, clinics were supplied with imported AstraZeneca vaccines, and the rollout was expected to align with the supply of locally produced vaccines. However, delivery issues affected the supply of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which is not manufactured in Australia, creating uncertainty in its availability.
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The Moderna vaccine
The Australian Government purchased 15 million doses of variant-specific versions to address longer-term immunity and viral variants, available in 2022. They also purchased 3 million doses of a variant-specific version to ensure an adequate portfolio of vaccines through 2023 and 2024. In September 2021, the Australian Government purchased an additional 1 million Moderna doses from European Union member states. Moderna has satisfied all deliveries under the current supply arrangement, with the last batch of pandemic supply stock being depleted on 12 July 2024.
Moderna is also seeking TGA approval for its JN.1 vaccine, but the health department has previously signaled it will not join the rollout.
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The Novavax vaccine
The Novavax COVID-19 vaccine is a product of Novavax, a global biotechnology company with a focus on developing R&D assets and establishing partnerships to leverage its technology to help protect health. Novavax is committed to accelerating the development of new and promising vaccines and sharing information based on years of study and experience.
In Australia, the Novavax vaccine was first trialled in Melbourne on 26 May 2020. The Australian government entered into agreements with Novavax for the supply of vaccines. However, the ancestral Novavax vaccine is no longer available in Australia as the company ceased manufacturing it in early 2022. The last batch of this vaccine expired on 31 January 2024.
Despite the scrutiny, the Novavax vaccine has shown effectiveness in a nearly 30,000-person clinical trial and is still being sold under emergency use authorization in the US. The Australian government intends to make an updated version of the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine available to eligible individuals as soon as possible following regulatory approval.
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The COVAX Facility
The Facility is the only global initiative working with governments and manufacturers to ensure that COVID-19 vaccines are accessible worldwide. CEPI is focused on the COVAX vaccine research and development portfolio, investing in R&D across a variety of promising candidates. Its goal is to support the development of three safe and effective vaccines that can be made available to countries participating in the COVAX Facility. As part of this work, CEPI has secured the first right of refusal to potentially over one billion doses for the COVAX Facility.
The Australian Government has joined the international COVAX Facility, committing A$123 million (US$87 million) to purchase vaccines from the Facility. This participation and investment mean that Australia can source vaccine doses from a diverse portfolio of potential COVID-19 vaccines as they become available. Australia has also committed funding to the separate COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC), which focuses on ensuring lower-income countries have access to COVID-19 vaccines. Australia's contributions to the AMC total AU$86 million, with AU$50 million of this going to the Gavi COVAX AMC.
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Frequently asked questions
The AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine is manufactured in Australia by CSL-Seqirus.
The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) evaluates and approves vaccines for use in Australia.
The AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Moderna, and Novavax vaccines have been approved for use in Australia.
The University of Queensland vaccine was abandoned in December 2020 after triggering false positives on HIV tests. The Novavax ancestral vaccine is also no longer available in Australia as of early 2022.
