Does Australia’s vaccine rollout need a shot in the arm?

On this episode of Democracy Sausage, Mark Kenny is joined by epidemiologist Mary-Louise McLaws and head of ANU Australian Studies Institute Paul Pickering to discuss the pace of Australia’s vaccine rollout and how it can be improved.

An international leader in infection control during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, Australia now seems to be falling behind other nations in its vaccine rollout. Why isn’t Australia hitting its vaccination targets? Is a return to politics-as-usual holding the country back? And given their high number of social contacts and thus greater risk of contracting the virus, should 20 to 39-year-olds be further up the list to receive the vaccine? On this episode of Democracy Sausage, Professor Mary-Louise McLaws from the University of New South Wales and Professor Paul Pickering from The Australian National University join Professor Mark Kenny to examine the rollout why it’s not going as smoothly as many had hoped.

Mary-Louise McLaws is a professor and epidemiologist at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) with expertise in hospital infection and infectious diseases control.

Paul Pickering is a professor and the Director of the ANU Australian Studies Institute.

Mark Kenny is a Professor in the ANU Australian Studies Institute. He came to the university after a high-profile journalistic career including six years as chief political correspondent and national affairs editor for The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, and The Canberra Times.

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This podcast is produced in partnership with The Australian National University.

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