The Northern Territory news Sat 4 Sep 2021
NT news
The Northern Territory news; NewspaperNT
2021-09-04
English
Community newspapers -- Northern Territory -- Darwin.; Australian newspapers -- Northern Territory -- Darwin.
News Corp Australia
Darwin
application/pdf
Copyright. Made available by the publisher under licence.
News Corp Australia
https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2019C00042
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/848943
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/849098
SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 4 2021 NEWS 05 V1 - NTNE01Z01MA The latest shipment of 500,000 Pfizer vaccines arrives in Sydney. Picture: Getty THE latest shipment of 500,000 Pfizer doses has touched down in Sydney as part of a vaccine swap deal made between Australia and Singapore, announced by the Prime Minister on Tuesday. The half a million extra doses are set to expire soon, so have been sent to Aussie shores to help boost our low vaccination rate. Under the agreement, the federal government will send 500,000 Pfizer doses back to Singapore in December, when Australia is expected to have a more plentiful supply. Prime Minister Scott Morrison says the extra vaccines will be distributed on a per capita basis around the country. The Northern Territory will receive 4622 doses out of the new shipment, while NSW will receive 159,236, Victoria 131,149, Queensland 99,745, WA 51,294, SA 34,934, Tasmania 10,675 and the ACT 8344. The government hopes the deal will bolster supplies for younger people who are new to the vaccine rollout, most of whom have only recently become eligible for Pfizer. Mr Morrison thanked Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his government for the support. HELENA BURKE SINGAPORE VAX TOUCH DOWNData as at September 2Source: Australian government Operation Covid Shield Transition Phase (70% of adult population fully vaccinated) Lockdowns less likely but possible, with easing of restrictions on vaccinated residents to be decided. Vaccination Consolidation Phase (80% of adult population fully vaccinated) Highly targeted lockdowns only. Caps on returning vaccinated Australians lifted and vaccinated Aussies exempt from all domestic restrictions. Age First dose Second dose 16-19 24.6% 5.7% 20-24 35.9% 13.2% 25-29 39.8% 16.3% 30-34 45.0% 19.2% 35-39 50.5% 22.4% 40-44 65.2% 43.2% 45-49 65.2% 45.1% 50-54 72.6% 49.8% 55-59 73.2% 51.5% 60-64 78.4% 46.0% 65-69 82.0% 51.4% 70-74 87.3% 63.3% 75-79 90.4% 67.8% 80-84 89.0% 66.7% 85-89 88.0% 65.4% 90-94 88.5% 67.2% 95+ 83.1% 64.8% QLD 52.2% 33.6% NT 56.5% 39.6% WA 52.4% 33.3% VIC 58.9% 36.6% SA 54.3% 36.2% NSW 71.5% 39.5% TAS 61.5% 44.3% ACT 67.4% 44.5% 61.30% 37.12% 12,640,002 20,619,959 7,653,638 20,619,959 ROAD TO FREEDOM THE NT government has no plans to make a renewed push for Territorians to update their Medicare addresses, despite a row breaking out between Chief Minister Michael Gunner and the commonwealth over how Covid-19 doses are recorded. It is not known how many people have registered their Medicare address in the NT. The most recent figures, which are from 2019-2020, indicate 246,103 people in the NT had their Medicare details reflecting they reside in the Territory. The NT government measures vaccine rates by counting the number of jabs given regardless of where you are from, while the commonwealth used to follow the same methodology but now records vaccine rates based on the address attached to a persons Medicare. The change meant the percentage of eligible people vaccinated in the NT dropped, with NT Health concerned doses given in the NT were counted interstate due to NT residents failing to update their Medicare details. NT Health Minister Natasha Fyles said the government was rolling out its vaccination program as quickly as possible. We have delivered a first dose to 66 per cent of Territorians and we are very close to hitting the 50 per cent mark for second doses in the Territory, she said. In March 2020, the NT government ran a campaign to get an estimated 4000 people living in the NT to update their details, with the government estimating it was missing out on $45m a year in GST payments. The drive had a sweet deal, with three lucky people who updated their details winning $5000 each. The success of the campaign led to 5000 Territorians updating or confirming their details. However, on Friday, questions to the NT government on whether it would introduce the scheme again, were left unanswered. The commonwealth also did not answer questions as to how many Medicare accounts were registered to the NT. The Australian Health Department in a statement said to date more than 217,000 Covid-19 doses had been given in the Territory while 20.3 million had been administered Australia-wide. The statement also indicated the rollout in regional and remote areas would continue to be undertaken with the support of the Royal Flying Doctor Service. No plans to push Medicare update JUDITH AISTHORPE Natasha Fyles. Sarah Davidson Darwin & Alice Springs OCTOBER BUSINESS MONTH IS BACK IN 2021 Whether you own a small business or work in one; get involved, grow and be inspired. This year OBM features an exciting mix of high profile keynote speakers, masterclasses, workshops, tradie talks, networking, and Territory success stories. Check out the full program and register at obm.nt.gov.au PLATINUM SPONSORS MEDIA SPONSORS Gus Balbontin Nhulunbuy & Darwin