Annastacia Palaszczuk gets Pfizer vaccine ‘in the event I need to travel to Tokyo’

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has defended getting the Pfizer vaccine over the AstraZeneca jab despite being over the age of 50.

After weeks of concern about her perceived vaccine hesitancy or lack of urgency, Ms Palaszczuk finally got the jab on Monday morning.

The 51-year-old received the Pfizer vaccine despite government advice that people over the age of 50 should receive AstraZeneca.

The premier says she had to get Pfizer to ensure she got her second dose before a possible trip to Tokyo with the prime minister next month as part of Brisbane’s 2032 Olympics bid.

“There may be a requirement for the state to present to the whole (International) Olympics Committee about the Olympics, and I wouldn’t have been unvaccinated and that’s why I had the Pfizer,” Palaszczuk told reporters.

Prime minister Scott Morrison said he would not be travelling to Tokyo, but he would meet his Japanese counterpart at the upcoming G7 in the UK.

The Queensland premier is the last Australian state or territory leader over the age of 50 to get the jab.

Chief health officer Jeannette Young, 57, got the AstraZeneca vaccine on Monday morning.

As part of the Queensland’s 1B cohort, Palaszczuk and Young have been eligible to get a vaccine since late March.

The premier said she had been offered the vaccine on day one of the rollout in Feburary but had turned it down because she did not want to jump the queue.

Palaszczuk said last week her jab had been delayed by two weeks because she had to get a tetanus shot after being bitten by her dog, Winton.

The premier then got a flu shot, delaying her vaccination for a further two weeks.

She laughed when asked why she had prioritised her flu shot over the Covid-19 jab.

“I have done everything I could physically be required to do,” Palaszczuk said.

The premier insisted she would have had the AstraZeneca jab if there wasn’t the remote possibility of overseas travel.

The opposition leader, David Crisafulli, who is 41 and getting Pfizer, said the government’s optics and messaging needed to improve.

“Everything we do as leaders has to be about giving people confidence in the vaccine,” he said.

Queensland launched a vaccination blitz over the weekend resulting in 17,032 doses being administered across the state.

The state government opened up 18 vaccine hubs to any aged care workers or people aged 40-49 who had registered for the jab.

More than 836,000 doses have been delivered in Queensland with about 92,500 people fully vaccinated.

Pharmacies will also join the vaccine drive on Monday after Queensland became the first state where chemists were given the green light to do so from the federal government.

Almost 50 pharmacies in remote and regional areas will be allowed to give customers the jab.