On the morning of April 21, Mr. James Merlino, acting Premier of Victoria (Australia), announced that he would provide 50 million AUD (about 38.6 million USD) to start a project to develop vaccine production technology of Covid-19 mRNA at state vaccine research facilities.
Under this project, it will take at least 12 months for Australia to produce Covid-19 vaccine using mRNA technology. The move will pave the way for vaccines using mRNA technology such as Pfizer and Moderna to be produced in Australia.
The Peter Doherty Institute of Infectious and Immunology will join Monash University, the University of Melbourne and a number of other research centers as the recipients of funding to develop the above plan. Vaccination against Covid-19 in Australia is facing many challenges due to lack of supply. (Source: Reuters) Scientists at the Peter Doherty Institute said they are working on a “preventive” vaccine with mRNA technology that can be modified to fight variations. Mr. Merlino said that this plan is an important event, not only for Victoria but for the entire country of Australia. Besides, he affirmed that the support budget will be increased when the project is developed in the future. Australia is currently only capable of producing AstraZeneca’s vaccines, with the initial plan being that the CSL facility in the city of Melbourne will produce more than 50 million doses. Vaccination against Covid-19 in Australia is facing many challenges due to the lack of vaccine supply, as well as the safety of the vaccine in relation to the side effects of thrombosis. (Reuters)
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