The Greens say that the People’s Vaccine Alliance calculation that Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson  have paid out $26 billion in dividends and stock buybacks to their shareholders in the past 12 months is appalling. 
 
“Profit making from Covid-19 vaccines is gross and highlights exactly why we need publicly owned, Government run facilities in Australia”, Greens spokesperson on Health Senator Rachel Siewert said. 
 

The Australian Greens have called on the Morrison Government to urgently prioritise disabled people, and disability support workers, in the national vaccine roll out after it was revealed that just 6.5% of this cohort have received their first dose.

Australian Greens Disability spokesperson Senator Jordon Steele-John said:

"This is absolutely shameful. It's clear that the Morrison government has once again forgotten to include disabled people, and the people who support us, in their pandemic response.

“It’s time for the Morrison Government to step up and show leadership on developing publicly-owned mRNA manufacturing capacity", Greens spokesperson on Health Senator Rachel Siewert said. 
 
“It’s not good enough to say they are doing investigations and scoping studies. How much longer do we have to wait? 

The Leader of the Greens, Adam Bandt, says the National Cabinet agenda should include the Greens’ call for investment in publicly-owned domestic mRNA vaccine production.

The Greens have been calling for publicly-owned vaccine manufacturing for almost a year, and since February have been explicitly calling for Australia to be able to produce mRNA vaccines here. Top scientists and immunisation experts have also argued that Australia should have domestic mRNA production.

The Australian Greens are calling for the establishment of a no-fault vaccine compensation scheme in Australia.
 
“There are already 25 countries around the world, including the US, UK and New Zealand, that have no-fault vaccine compensation schemes in place and it’s time for Australia to join them”, Australian Greens spokesperson on Health Senator Rachel Siewert said.
 
“Having a no-fault vaccine compensation scheme in place will ensure people don’t need to pursue compensation through the legal system in the rare event of adverse side effects.
 

The Greens say the government should use unallocated discretionary funds set aside for COVID to begin work on a publicly-owned domestic vaccine manufacturer. If the government fails to act, the Greens plan to move in the Senate to demand action on domestic vaccine production when Parliament resumes.

The Australian Greens are calling for an urgent independent review into the serious and widespread problems with Australia’s vaccine rollout.

“The vaccine rollout for which both the Federal and State Governments have responsibility is having more than so called “teething problems” and these are having real-world consequences with the latest Covid-19 outbreaks spreading in Queensland and threatening in NSW,” Greens spokesperson on Health Senator Rachel Siewert said.

The Greens have said that Australia must support a World Trade Organization (WTO) proposal that would waive intellectual property provisions to allow Covid-19 vaccine production to be rolled out and made accessible and affordable to everyone in the global community.

The WTO Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Council is meeting this week, with the Covid-19 vaccine on the agenda.

Senator Mehreen Faruqi, Greens spokesperson for International Aid & Development, said:

The Greens say that halted shipments of Astra Zeneca vaccines from Europe show the risks of relying on international supply chains to inoculate Australians, extending their call for the government to establish a publicly-owned vaccine production centre.

News of a quarter of a million doses due for Australia being blocked has exposed the risks caused by the privatisation and winding down of Australia’s domestic vaccine production capabilities over decades.

The Greens say that the Government will miss out on opportunities to expand and diversify Australia’s vaccine portfolio if they don’t invest in public capacity to produce mRNA vaccines