Scott Morrison AstraZeneca
(Image: AAP/David Caird)

In question time yesterday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison tried to recast government as the great defender of the AstraZeneca vaccine. 

“Those challenges [on the vaccine rollout] have been overcome, whether it was the hesitancy around the AstraZeneca vaccine, which many shared, but this government didn’t share, I can assure you,” he said.

“As we stood up for the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, others sought to cast aspersions on it — but not our government.”

Australia has a 6 million-dose stockpile of AZ, but its reputation has been so maligned by fears of rare blood clotting side effects and shifting advice from the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) that much of that may go to waste.

Morrison claiming the government always backed AstraZeneca seems like a bit of revision that doesn’t stack up. Instead, its representation of ATAGI’s advice and shifting messaging helped reinforce a perception that AZ was inferior. 

Here’s a quick recap: in April, Morrison held a night-time press conference announcing that based on ATAGI’s advice AZ would not be the preferred vaccine for under-50s. Because he fronted the media within 15 minutes of getting the advice, the nuance wasn’t made clear.

People under 50 were never restricted from getting AZ. They could always receive it after talking to a doctor, and if the benefit outweighed the risk. Morrison only pivoted to that position at another night-time presser in late June — after the Sydney outbreak began — suggesting people under 40 could get AZ by talking to their GP. After that he repeatedly blamed ATAGI’s “overly cautious” advice for causing problems with the vaccine rollout.

But in the meantime his government’s messaging had continued to shift. In May, Health Minister Greg Hunt reminded over-50s worried about AstraZeneca that more doses of Pfizer and Moderna would be available later in the year. He was later forced to backtrack and confirm his advice hadn’t changed.

In June, ATAGI’s advice changed again, making Pfizer the preferred vaccine for anyone under 60.

Although Morrison has taken a few pot shots at ATAGI, yesterday’s question time performance was clearly a dig at Labor. The opposition’s focus on his failure to secure enough vaccine supply has led to accusations Anthony Albanese was slow to promote AZ.

As Sydney’s outbreak worsened in July, and the government tried to rehabilitate AZ, Labor MPs still talked about Australia’s vaccine scarcity problem, despite the oversupply of AZ. The party has also preselected Michelle Ananda-Rajah — a doctor who has been a very prominent voice attacking the safety and efficacy of AZ — for the Melbourne seat of Higgins.

But Labor isn’t the government, and any of its mixed messaging carries less weight. The Morrison government’s failure to stand up for AZ until it was far too late caused more harm.