Australia's pre-COVID 19 pandemic settings were not fit for purpose and official health advice on vaccine eligibility has been confusing, according to an independent review.
The inquiry was led by senior public servant Jane Halton, who also oversaw the national review of hotel quarantine arrangements.
It was intended to give advice to the government about where it should focus its efforts to make sure Australia can adapt to future developments of disease and vaccines.
Professor Halton, who chairs the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, said that the pre-pandemic structures and processes, like assessing vaccines, were not fit for purpose.
We had to have as responsive a regulatory context as we were seeing in the vaccine development world. We needed our funding, our regulatory systems and our procurement systems to move at a great speed. Professor Halton said that while Australia has managed to achieve high primary vaccination rates and maintain a low death rate, the numbers have started to wane, she said. She said that advisory structures need to be streamlined and that they need to be clearer.
If you look at our uptake of the fourth booster, we are lagging most of the world, so we are 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 we will get better uptake if we make it easier for people. The report recommended that eligibility settings for the Novavax vaccine be changed to minimize oversupply and reduce the need for other vaccines.
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.
He said it would be good for them to present that clinical data to the Australian government and to advisory authorities.
I've also indicated to the department that it would be good for the ATAGI to come together and consider that new data.
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. Policy settings had not been updated to take into account widespread COVID 19 infections, the possibility of future waves and vaccine developments, according to the report.
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 beginning of the vaccine rollout, with delays in securing stock and a change in medical advice regarding AstraZeneca vaccine due to blood clot concerns, prompting former prime minister Scott Morrison to apologise.
A report from the auditor-general last month found that the former government's plan for the COVID 19 vaccine rollout was not timely and did not adequately engage with the states and territories before it began.
The Halton review stopped short of criticizing 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 distribution and delivery of the vaccines is one of the largest exercises in health logistics ever, with the Commonwealth spending more than 45 billion on the COVID 19 health response, including more than $8 billion related to vaccines and booster doses.
Butler said that the government would carefully consider the report's eight recommendations.