Tracy Grimshaw grills Scott Morrison over the nation’s Covid vaccination rate

A Current Affair host Tracy Grimshaw has grilled Scott Morrison over Australia’s current Covid vaccination rate – with the Prime Minister responding by claiming 30,000 lives have been saved across the nation during the pandemic.

In a tense interview where the veteran journalist posed a number of questions about Sydney’s current lockdown, struggling businesses remaining closed and government assistance payments, talk soon turned to vaccination rollout numbers.

‘We are behind other countries in the vaccine rollout. We put so much faith in one vaccine (AstraZeneca) that we make here but that has been presented by problems. If you could go back one year, would you have bought more Pfizer doses?’ Grimshaw asked. 

‘I can’t stress enough how important it is for people to get vaccinated,’ the Prime Minister said.

‘We bought 20 million Pfizer (doses) and we have been able to upgrade that to 40 million Pfizer doses.

Scott Morrison also pointed Australia is on track to chalk up one million people being vaccinated this week (pictured, people lined up for Covid vaccinations in Brisbane on Thursday)

‘We are also on track to see a million people get vaccinated this week. If we keep up those numbers, we will go a long way towards fighting back (against the virus).

‘I am aware of the hesitancy around people over 70 not wanting to be vaccinated, we are looking to change that perception.’

The PM also refuted talk Australia will eventually achieve complete population vaccination coverage.

‘We cannot totally eradicate the virus. No country will get to 100 per cent. This is the myth going around the vaccination debate around the world,’ Mr Morrison said.

‘There is only one country in the world that has two dose vaccination rate higher than 65 per cent and that is Israel.’ 

Mr Morrison then added the nation needed to ‘get some perspective’ and change its coronavirus focus. 

‘Other countries are moving forward with opening up because they have had millions of people who have actually contracted the virus and there is more antibodies in that population,” he said. 

‘Globally speaking, we have a low rate of deaths in this country, and that has been a state and federal level focus.

‘We have also seen our economy recognised as one of the best performing in the world. During this pandemic we have created jobs and seen less deaths… we have delivered that as a government.

‘Our main focus is saving lives and saving livelihoods.’ 

The prime minister told Grimshaw, ‘We’ve saved 30,000 lives here in Australia.’ 

In NSW on Friday, 44 new cases of Covid were recorded, including 27 people who were infectious in the community. It is the highest number of daily infections in the state since the pandemic’s first wave in early 2020.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has suggested the lockdown could again be extended beyond July 16, as restrictions for residents in Greater Sydney were further tightened at 5pm on Friday.

A Current Affair host Tracy Grimshaw was on the front foot in her interview with Scott Morrison on Friday night – especially about vaccination numbers in Australia

PM Scott Morrison (pictured) also told ACA host Tracy Grimshaw Australia has secured 40 million Pfizer vaccination doses

The Morrison government is also looking to reduce fears of those aged over 70 about vaccinations, especially AstraZeneca (pictured, Sydney resident Kelly Nankivell getting her jab this week)

An anxious Ms Berejiklian said the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant of the virus left her no choice but to expand restrictions.  

Ms Berejiklian added with the rate of vaccination hovering around 9 per cent, allowing the virus to spread in the community was not an option.

‘Unless there is a dramatic change, unless there is a dramatic turnaround in the numbers, I can’t see how we would be in a position to ease restrictions by next Friday,’ she said.