Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has launched a new broadside on the Morrison government, saying "a magical moment" was missed to vaccinate the entire population and as a result it had let down the whole country.
Ms Palaszczuk and her Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young sparked a national boilover of tensions today when they pointed blame squarely at the commonwealth level for the current coronavirus crisis gripping multiple states and territories.
Ms Palaszczuk, who has put large parts of her state into lockdown over a handful of new cases including in an unvaccinated health worker, told the ABC's 7.30 that the Federal Government had "let the population of Australia down".
"The Federal Government is responsible for quarantine and the supply of the vaccine and they have let the population of Australia down," she said.
"We have had a magical moment here, a magical moment in time we are never going to get back where we could have had the entire population vaccinated before the virus has arrived in this way.
"Now I am very concerned that may have left it too late."
Ms Palaszczuk was asked about the unvaccinated woman who flew to different parts of the state whilst infectious. The 19-year-old worked as a receptionist at the specific COVID ward or the Brisbane hospital where people are sent when they test positive to the virus whilst in hotel quarantine.
Ms Palaszczuk put the focus on the person who was taken to the hospital ward sick, as opposed to the receptionist who was not vaccinated despite Queensland's public health policy.
"She was outside the COVID ward and let me say the person who brought the Delta virus in had left Australia, left Queensland numerous times and was unvaccinated," Ms Palaszczuk said.
"If the person had left Australia in the first place vaccinated, this may never have happened."
People who have permission to leave Australia are now allowed to jump the vaccination queue by getting a jab before they leave.
Earlier today, Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews accused Ms Palaszczuk of creating a "smokescreen" over the AstraZeneca vaccine debacle and flights into Australia after her comments alongside Dr Young.
Ms Palaszczuk and Dr Young appeared visibly angry at a morning press conference where the premier revealed they had requested extra Pfizer vaccines and been knocked back, with some sites in the state due to run out in days.
Ms Andrews fired back later to say the Queensland government was trying to conceal its own failures.
The AstraZeneca debate
Prime Minister Scott Morrison's call to extend eligibility for the AstraZeneca vaccine for anybody aged over 18 who requests it prompted alarm in some quarters.
He said on Monday night that National Cabinet had decided in at a crisis meeting to an indemnity scheme for GPs to administer the vaccine to people under 60 who request it.
Advice from the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI), as the government has acknowledged, has not changed, and the AstraZeneca vaccine continues to be recommended for use by over-60s.
Pfizer is "preferred" for under 60s, ATAGI says.
AstraZeneca can be given to people under that age however, if the person gives informed consent, and some younger people had already had jabs.
The likelihood of dying from a blood clot from the jab is about one in two million.
Ms Palaszczuk said National Cabinet did not make the decision to widen the availability of AstraZeneca to under-40s.
"National Cabinet did not make that decision," she said at her COVID-19 media briefing today.
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"I'd like to ask the prime minister: did his cabinet make that decision?"
She called into question whether it was wise for the prime minister to allow younger Australians to get AstraZeneca.
"We want Queenslanders to get vaccinated," she said.
"But there is some clear guidelines that have been put in place by the chief health officer, ATAGI, and the AMA."
She urged Queenslanders to listen to the advice of health experts, including Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young.
READ MORE: Queensland records three new local cases of COVID-19
"At the moment, the advice is for people aged 40 to 59 to get Pfizer, and people 60 and over to get AstraZeneca," Ms Palaszczuk said.
"There has been no National Cabinet decision about AstraZeneca being given to under-40s."
Dr Young was clear in her thoughts on the prime minister's decision to allow younger Australians to get the AstraZeneca vaccine.
"I do not want under-40s to get AstraZeneca," she said.
"I don't want an 18-year-old in Queensland dying from a clotting illness who, if they got COVID, probably wouldn't die.
"We've had very few deaths due to COVID-19 in Australia in people under the age of 50.
"Wouldn't it be terrible that our first 18-year-old in Queensland who dies related to this pandemic died because of the vaccine?"
READ MORE: Big change to AstraZeneca vaccine explained
Ms Andrews today said younger people considering getting the AstraZeneca vaccine should talk to their doctor.
"We have made the AstraZeneca vaccine available to people between 18 and 59 who choose to take an informed decision to consult with their doctor, speak with their doctor, take advice from their doctor, and potentially proceed to be vaccinated with the AstraZeneca vaccine," she said.
"That is a conversation that individuals need to have with their own doctor and take their advice."
Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan has also said people aged under 40 should wait for the Pfizer vaccine.
"That is the advice we have and that is the national advice from the immunisation experts," Mr McGowan said.
"Clearly, the Commonwealth has taken a different approach."
Queensland Health Minister Yvette D'Ath said Queensland is due to run out of Pfizer vaccines in eight days, and that the state has been denied extra supply by the Federal Government.
She said extra vaccines had been requested from Australia's vaccine rollout commander Lieutenant-General John Frewen.
READ MORE: Australia dead-last in the OECD on vaccine rollout
"The reason we gave is that we are at a critical level and that at some of our sites we are projected to run out of Pfizer by as soon as week 20," she said.
"That's July 5. Next Monday.
"About three weeks ago, when Victoria went into lockdown and asked for additional supply, they got an extra 100,000 vaccines.
"We weren't offered less than what we asked for, we have been denied any extra vaccines."
READ MORE: Bunnings among new venues added to Sydney exposure sites list
Ms D'Ath called on the Federal Government to disclose national Pfizer stockpiles, and asked whether low supply was behind the federal decision to expand eligibility for the AstraZeneca vaccine.
"Have we only got what is allocated, and no contingency stock left until that big delivery in October?" she said.
"It can't simply be because we have a lot of stock of one vaccine and not enough of the other, to start recommending that people get a particular vaccine.
"That advice should always be based on clinical advice."
Ms Andrews said her understanding was that Queensland had "adequate" supplies of the vaccine, with a rapid escalation in doses being delivered from next month.
Mr McGowan has also called for more vaccines to be made available to the states.
The AstraZeneca vaccine has been linked to serious blood clots in extremely rare cases – with younger people more likely to suffer the side-effect.
Queensland had three new local cases of coronavirus in the past 24 hours.
Border stoush heats up
Another extraordinary clash occurred when Ms Palaszczuk slammed the government over incoming travellers, alleging the majority were not Australians, as she called for a reduction in arrival caps.
"I have never said that vulnerable Australians should not be allowed to return home," she said.
"I absolutely believe that vulnerable Australians should be going through the Federal Government, and we have a purpose dedicated facility called Howard Springs that can deal with our vulnerable Australians.
"But there are a large number of people that are travelling overseas for business, for a whole range of reasons, and there are questions that need to be answered about why they are not vaccinated leaving and also if people are coming to Australia why are they not getting their vaccinations?
"Because it is overseas arrivals that are bringing this Delta virus into our state."
However, Ms Andrews accused Ms Palaszczuk of creating a "smokescreen" over the issue.
"The reason that we are in lockdown here, particularly in south-east Queensland, but also in parts of northern Queensland, are because of failures by the Palaszczuk government," Ms Andrews said.
"Firstly, for the mine worker that came in from Bendigo, they were a low-risk individual, domestic traveller. They were put into hotel quarantine in a room between two high-risk international travellers.
"And it would appear that as a result of that, that individual has contracted COVID-19.
"There is also the failure of Premier Palaszczuk and her Deputy Premier Steven Miles to make sure that health workers in high-risk areas are properly vaccinated. And that has led to a young worker being infected with COVID.
"So clearly what Annastacia Palaszczuk is doing is making sure that she is doing as much as she possibly can to ensure that she puts up a smokescreen to hide the inefficiency and ineffectiveness of quarantine that is administered and managed by the Queensland government."
Ms Palaszczuk has said somebody will be "held responsible" following an investigation into why the worker, a part-time hospital ward receptionist, had been exposed to COVID-19 while unvaccinated.
You can find out more details about how to book your vaccine through the Federal Government health site here.
