Of the 160 different vaccine projects in the world, the Oxford vaccine is one of the most advanced and promising.

Dear
Friend,
This week, the Government signed a letter of intent with AstraZeneca that would mean Australians get access to the University of Oxford COVID-19 vaccine for free, should trials prove successful, safe and effective.

Of the 160 different vaccine projects in the world, the Oxford vaccine is one of the most advanced and promising.

While there is no guarantee any of these vaccine projects will be successful, there is hope.

The Government will continue discussions with many of these developers, while at the same time backing Australian researchers. We will continue to take advice from our best medical, scientific and manufacturing experts.

While work progresses on a vaccine, the Government will continue supporting Australians. This includes backing Victoria to get on top of this outbreak.

Currently, around 1,770 Australian Defence Force personnel are deployed to Victoria, assisting with testing, contract tracing, and many other tasks.

The federal Department of Health is also assisting Victoria with contact tracing, while medical staff from across the country have been brought together to assist with testing.

A Victorian Aged Care Response Centre was established in July, supported by specialist medical teams and essential supplies.

A surge workforce of over 1,000 staff is being provided, to support aged care facilities impacted by COVID-19. This includes clinical first responders and registered nurses.

The National Medical Stockpile has dispatched over 9.4 million masks for aged care in Victoria, along with 2.8 million gowns, 2.7 million goggles and face shields, 6.7 million gloves, 60,000 bottles of hand sanitiser and 65,000 clinical waste bags.

Our substantial boost to Australia’s health capacity, includes $1.1 billion in additional funding for specific COVID-19 costs in Victoria.

We are continuing to support Australians with the biggest economic lifeline in our history. This includes:
* JobKeeper, which is supporting 990,000 businesses and 3.5 million workers.
* ​Payments to boost cash flow for more than 780,000 businesses.
* A 50% wage subsidy for around 180,000 apprentices and trainees.
* Up to 340,700 JobTrainer places, helping school leavers and job seekers to upskill.
* The HomeBuilder program, supporting the residential construction industry.
* The Coronavirus Supplement, which is being paid on top of JobSeeker.
* ​$750 payments in April and July to millions of Australians, including pensioners.

Australia will continue to face uncertainty and a long road to recovery.

However, the Government will continue to have Australians’ backs and Australians will continue to support each other.

Regards,

Scott Morrison
Prime Minister


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Authorised by A. Hirst for the Liberal Party of Australia.
Corner of Blackall and Macquarie Streets, Barton ACT 2600.
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