The former health department boss charged with reviewing the nation's vaccine procurement during the pandemic says she is "surprised" the federal government has not yet ordered any COVID-19 vaccines for the year after next, telling the ABC it is "prudent" supplies are secured.
Jane Halton's review of vaccine procurement during the pandemic has recommended steps be taken to ensure adequate supplies are available for the next two years.
But in an interview with the ABC's PM program, Professor Halton said vaccines had not yet been ordered for 2024.
"I'm a little surprised," she told host David Lipson.
"I think it would be prudent for all of us to realise that this virus isn't going away and there's nothing that we see that suggests that people won't continue to need to get a level of immunity, preferably, obviously, from a vaccine as opposed to being infected.
"So I'm certainly encouraging the minister. And I think that's what he's keen to ensure we can do, that we can all get those vaccines if and when we need them."
Professor Halton's review found Australia's pre-COVID-19 pandemic settings were not "fit for purpose" and official health advice about vaccine eligibility was confusing.
The review was designed to provide advice to the government about where it should focus its efforts to ensure Australia can adapt to future developments of disease and vaccines.
Professor Halton, who chairs the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, said the pre-pandemic "structures and processes" — like assessing vaccines — were not "fit for purpose".
"And I think the thing we all knew was that this was a race," she said at a press conference earlier today.
"We actually had to have as responsive a regulatory context as we were seeing in the vaccine development world … we needed our regulatory systems, our funding and our procurement systems to move at great speed."
Professor Halton found while Australia has managed to achieve high primary vaccination rates and maintained a low death rate, recent performance has lagged.
She also said official health advice about vaccine eligibility had been confusing, calling for advisory structures to be "streamlined".
"I think it needs to be clearer," she said.
"We need to make it easy for people, make it easy to access these vaccines for boosting, and I think that will then help us with uptake.
"If you actually look at our uptake of the fourth booster, we are lagging most of the world — so we're sitting on 40 per cent, or a bit over 40 per cent at the moment. That is not as good as a number of other countries.
"I think if we make it easier for people, we will get better uptake."
The report also recommended eligibility settings for the Novavax vaccine be changed to mitigate oversupply and reduce the need for other vaccines.
Currently, health advice states Novavax is not a preferred booster dose for Australians under 18, but Health Minister Mark Butler said the biotechnology company had been arguing that should be reconsidered.
"I've indicated it would be good for them to present that clinical data to the Australian government and to advisory authorities," Mr Butler said.
"I've also indicated to the department it would be good for [the vaccine advisory body] ATAGI to come together and to consider that new data.
"Obviously, it will be a matter for ATAGI to reach their own conclusions about it but at the very least, they should be considering the most recent clinical data."
The report also found policy settings had not been updated to take in to account widespread COVID-19 infections, the possibility of future waves and vaccine developments.
It urged the government to secure more Moderna vaccines to meet any anticipated shortfall in mRNA vaccines and ensure there are enough for children.
The Coalition faced widespread criticism at the start of the vaccine rollout, with delays in securing stock and a change in medical advice regarding the AstraZeneca vaccine due to blood clot concerns, prompting former prime minister Scott Morrison to last year apologise.
Last month, a report by the auditor-general found the former government's planning for the COVID-19 vaccine rollout was not "timely" and failed to adequately engage with the states and territories before it began.
However the Halton review stopped short of criticising the former government, finding Australia's early procurement of vaccines occurred in the context of uncertainty and a global vaccine shortage, and that its approach was consistent with other high-income countries.
The Commonwealth has spent more than $45 billion on the COVID-19 health response, including more than $8 billion related to vaccines and booster doses, with the distribution and delivery of those vaccines one of the largest exercises in health logistics ever.
Mr Butler said the government would now carefully consider the report's eight recommendations.
