The boring truth of Australia's vaccine rollout

The COVID-19 vaccine rollout has been a controversial issue in Australia.

The federal government insists that the vaccination campaign is progressing well, while its critics strongly disagree. Prime Minister Scott Morrison recently sparked outrage by arguing that the vaccine rollout is "not a race" in response to observations that Australia trails far behind vaccination leaders such as Israel and the United Kingdom.

The boring truth of the matter is that Australia's vaccine rollout hasn't been particularly good, but it hasn't been particularly bad, either.

It is certainly true that Australia is not a world leader in COVID-19 vaccination, yet it has still progressed further than several other comparable countries. Consequently, vaccination data can be cherrypicked to serve vastly different narratives, depending on which countries Australia is compared to.

Australia leads developed countries in the Asia-Pacific

By the end of May, Australia had administered more vaccine doses per capita than many other countries in the Asia-Pacific, including developed countries in the region.

Australia leads Japan, which is set to host the Summer Olympics in just seven weeks, by a significant margin. It has also made considerably more progress than Jacinda Ardern's New Zealand government. Of the developed countries in the region, only South Korea is emulating Australia's progress.

In recent months, Australia has pulled ahead of nearby countries it once trailed in the vaccination race, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh — a sign that its efforts are ramping up.

In the context of the Asia-Pacific region, which has largely struggled to match the pace of Europe and North America, Australia's rollout has been relatively good, although it must be noted that Australia has the advantage of being one of the wealthiest countries in the region.

Australia trails most of the 'Western world'

In the context of the Western world, Australia's progress appears tiny.

Australia has lagged far behind the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada and the European Union throughout the vaccine rollout, according to data collated by Our World in Data.

Australia began its vaccination campaign long after most other Western countries commenced their respective rollouts. By the time Australia administered its first doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in late February, the United Kingdom had already provided approximately a quarter of its population with the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

Since beginning its rollout, Australia has not administered doses as rapidly as it once hoped to. The federal government's target of 4,000,000 vaccinations by the end of March was not met. Instead, only 670,349 doses were administered by 31 March.

A global view

In a global context, Australia's vaccination progress is neither impressive nor disastrous.

Australia has been so successful in suppressing COVID-19 that its vaccine rollout lacks urgency, from both the government and the public. There is, undoubtedly, considerable room for improvement in its vaccination efforts, which fail to match those of many other developed countries.

Yet it should also be acknowledged that, despite its shortcomings, Australia is still better placed than many of its neighbours.

Room for improvement

Australia has significant potential to improve its vaccine rollout.

The key to increasing the pace of the vaccination campaign is to make vaccination easier and more convenient for the public. Currently, getting vaccinated can be a tedious task.

In the state of Victoria, for instance, appointments at mass vaccination hubs can only be booked over the phone. There is not yet an online booking system, although the state is attempting to establish one.

The mass vaccination hubs do accept walk-ins, but those who attempt this method may wait for hours in a queue. For many, the process is too time consuming, or the inconvenience of booking an appointment or lining up in a queue is perceived to outweigh the threat of COVID-19.

Making vaccination simpler and more convenient for prospective takers is Australia's path to herd immunity.