Fifty Percent of Eligible Australians Are Now Fully Vaccinated Against COVID-19
More than 26 million jabs have been given so far, and almost 75 percent of eligible population has received their first dose.
The pandemic has given us all new pastimes, from baking sourdough and piecing together all the puzzles to watching every Nicolas Cage movie ever made and mixing up top-notch cocktails at home. For the past few months, we've all added something else to our list, too: keeping an eye on Australia's COVID-19 vaccination rates.
We all know why we're all currently fascinated with jab percentages. Back in July, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced that Australia will tie its efforts to manage COVID-19 to vax rates moving forward. So, as the country reaches certain vaccination milestones — 70 percent of Aussies over the age of 16 receiving two doses, and then 80 percent — the way that Australia handles the pandemic will evolve. Restrictions will start to ease, lockdowns will be less likely, international travel will open back up and people who've been fully vaxxed will live life under loosened rules.
As both New South Wales and Victoria have dealt with COVID-19 outbreaks this year, vax rates have continued to be thrust into the spotlight. Both NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian and her Victorian counterpart Daniel Andrews have highlighted specific jab thresholds, and announced that lockdown rules will begin to change when they're met. Accordingly, that means that we're all now paying extra attention to those vaccination figures and noting every milestone — with Australia just hitting a big one.
Today, Friday, September 24, Australia has officially hit the 50-percent fully vaxxed mark, based on all eligible Australians over the age of 16. That's nationwide, and it's big push towards hitting those 70-percent and 80-percent marks.
Federal Minister for Health and Aged Care Greg Hunt revealed that 50.1 percent of eligible Aussies are now double jabbed, and 74.8 percent have had their first dose. In total, more than 26 million jab have been given so far, including two million this week.
We have also passed the 50% double dosed mark (50.1%) for the eligible population (74.8% for first dose).
And a record primary care day of 211,335.
Please keep coming forward to be vaccinated.
— Greg Hunt (@GregHuntMP) September 24, 2021
Wondering why you might be interested in the Aussie rate, and not just vax numbers in your own state or territory? As part of that plan announced by the PM — the National Plan to transition Australia's National COVID Response — vaccination rates have to reach the 70-percent and 80-percent fully jabbed marks across the entire country before an individual state or territory can start easing the rules. That state or territory also has to reach those thresholds itself before it can do anything, of course, but that isn't the only important figure.
So, this news inches us all closer to those target vax thresholds — and that's obviously the kind of news we could all use.
You can keep an eye on the jab rates at a number of different websites and, if you still need to get vaccinated, these helpful maps show you where in NSW, Victoria and Queensland.
To find out more about the status of COVID-19 in Australia and how to protect yourself, head to the Australian Government Department of Health's website.
