Mexico receives AstraZeneca doses from India

The Therapeutic Goods Administration now test the vaccines to ensure they meet Australia's strict quality standards.

States and Territories will get 60 per cent of the supply - or about 50,000 doses - while the Commonwealth will distribute 30,000 vaccines across aged care centres."The eagle has landed", Mr Hunt said.

Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr Christopher Tufton has hailed the World Health Organization's (WHO) emergency use approval of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine as "good news" for Jamaica.

Mexico and Argentina have an agreement with AstraZeneca to produce the vaccine for eventual distribution of 250 million doses in Latin America, with financial support from the foundation of Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim.

"The decision to immunise an elderly patient should be decided on a case-by-case basis", it said. It says there are no safety concerns for people aged over 65, but there is not enough data to determine the efficacy for people in that age group.

This is likely to commence when the AstraZeneca vaccine has begun rolling out across Australia as it can be stored like most other vaccines, meaning it will be more accessible to doctor's surgeries and pharmacies.

COVID-19 vaccine will then be offered to the rest of the adult population.

He said critical details, including when Australians would receive the vaccines, remained unclear.

Around 1 million doses of the AstraZeneca jab will be rolled out each week from the end of March, Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt said.

Sunday's shipment amounts to about 42% of the 2 million doses of the AstraZeneca and Oxford University vaccine the country plans to import from India, in addition to packaging it locally, the government said.

Phase 3 up to 13.6 million doses and will be offered to people under 16 years old if it is recommended by the TGA.