Leigh Sales rips into Greg Hunt on 7:30 over slow Covid vaccine rollout

Leigh Sales has blasted federal Health Minister Greg Hunt over Australia’s slow vaccine rollout, at one point expressing horror when he revealed that 74 nursing homes around the country remained unvaccinated.

Interviewing the minister on ABC-TV’s 7.30, Sales was scathing when Mr Hunt also revealed that just 500,000 people out of Australia’s 26 million population have been fully vaccinated.

“The US announced they have got 50 per cent of their population completely done. Australia’s performance is underwhelming,” Sales said to Mr Hunt.

When he replied that vaccination on Thursday had been “a record day of 111,000

Australians who stepped forward to be vaccinated” Sales interjected, “Come on minister.

“Five hundred thousand in total? That’s nowhere near the population like the US has.”Mr Hunt protested that even without full vaccination an initial jab of Astra Zeneca had been administered to more than 3 million Australians.

“You will see from next week a progressive increase in the number of Australians that have had second doses,” he said.

Sales moved on to immunisation in aged care facilities after it had been revealed during preparations for the Victorian lockdown that 29 facilities in that state were still unvaccinated.

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It was during this exchange that Mr Hunt dropped another bombshell.

Sales: “Minister, can you please address what I was talking to you about. How many facilities does that mean, aged care facilities, have not had vaccination yet?

Hunt: “In Victoria, we have nine to complete tomorrow.”

Sales: “What about nationally?”

Hunt: “Around Australia, prior to today, because we haven’t had today’s figures come in. We had 74 still to go.”

Sales: “74 still to go? You said on 16th February that it would take six weeks.

“We know these are the most vulnerable people in the country based on the death data that we saw last year.

“How can 74 places not have been vaccinated yet?” Sales was incredulous.

“[Minister for Aged Care and Senior Australians] Richard Colbeck said the Australian government would be responsible for leading the implementation of the Covid-19 vaccine program in the aged care sector.

“So if Covid rips through an unvaccinated aged care facility, that’s on you or Minister Colbeck?”

The fiery exchange came just hours before Victoria was due to enter a snap seven-day lockdown after it was revealed 26 people were infected with Covid-19 in the state.

candace.sutton@news.com.au