The man who will decide of a COVID-19 vaccine is safe for use in Australia says the country’s “remarkable turnaround” has put us in an enviable position and there are “a lot of advantages” to waiting a few months before vaccinations begin.

Deputy Secretary of the Health Department, Adjunct Professor John Skerritt, says he’s hopeful that Australia will approve a vaccine early next year.

“By the time we’re in the position to approve a vaccine, maybe late January or early February, we’ll have, just because the passage of time, a lot more information about what populations these vaccines work best on,” he told Neil Mitchell.

“Australia has had a remarkable turnaround and that gives us the ability … to wait another few weeks until this extra data comes in.

“A lot of the serious adverse events … with vaccines tend to appear six to eight weeks after people are vaccinated.

“That’s another reason why waiting the extra month or two has a lot of advantages.”

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