AstraZeneca COVID19 Vaccine Production Starts in Australia - Reports

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th November, 2020) The CSL Limited company starts producing the University of Oxford/AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine on Monday, Australian media report.

Thirty million doses of the vaccine will enter manufacturing in Victoria on Monday, according to Sydney's 2GB radio.

"[The vaccine] is going to be voluntary but we'll encourage as many people as possible," Health Minister Greg Hunt told 2GB on Monday. "We're confident that we'll have a very high take-up amongst the Australian population," he added.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported that it will take CSL about 50 days to completely process the vaccine.

According to the newspaper, the company has separate contracts with AstraZeneca and the Australian government for the production of the vaccine.

The AstraZeneca vaccine still needs to be approved by Australia's Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA). Phase three clinical trials of the vaccine are expected to wrap up by the end of this year.

According to Health Minister Greg Hunt, the vaccine will start to be available to the public in March.