The federal government will make its case to the World Health Organisation after the European Union threatened to block coronavirus vaccine shipments to some countries.
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Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne will represent Australia's interest to the WHO to ensure the February planned vaccine rollout is still on track, Veterans' Affairs Minister Darren Chester said on Saturday.
"Now as we understand our situation here in Australia, right now we are on track, we have brought forward the approval process, it's been fully approved in terms of distribution of the vaccine we expect to roll out towards the end of February," Mr Chester told ABC News on Saturday.
Mr Chester said Health Minister Greg Hunt was making all the responsible moves to ensure the vaccination supply was available to Australia.
"These supply shocks were not unexpected given the nature of the virus," he said.
The EU made new export restrictions on vaccinations produced by pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and AstraZeneca to a list of countries including Australia after supply shortages were reported.
The restrictions give EU citizens priority and ensure the pharmaceutical giants must seek approval first before sending doses abroad.
The move comes after AstraZeneca published its COVID-19 vaccine contract with the European Commission, signed on August 27.
The published version contains redacted parts related to some confidential information such as invoices.
"The Commission welcomes the company's commitment towards more transparency in its participation in the rollout of the EU Vaccines Strategy," the EU executive said in its statement.
Australian Associated Press
