Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has hit out at the federal government over suggestions for a universal school-based vaccination program.
Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt says a mass Covid vaccination program in schools would quickly boost jab rates and bring an end to rules requiring grades 3 to 6 children to wear masks for the rest of the term.
However, Mr Andrews on Thursday said Victorians “don’t take orders from Greg Hunt, the bloke that forgot to order vaccines”.
“We’ve got arrangements in schools; we’ve run vax hubs and pop-ups in schools,” the Premier told reporters.
“I got a WhatsAppxjmtzyw message from the Prime Minister like the day after I made those announcements, saying it was one of the best things he’d ever heard – it was terrific, well done.
“Frankly, Victorians don’t take orders from Greg Hunt, the bloke who forgot to place an order for vaccines. Seriously.
“We’re out there doing the commonwealth government’s work for them; the least they can do is not be lecturing us on how to get that job done.”
From midnight on Friday, Victoria is set to scrap masks in most settings, but children in grades 3 to 6 will be required to keep them on in the classroom.
More than 54 per cent of Victorians aged between five and 11 have had one dose of the vaccine; however, Mr Andrews has expressed concern with the pace of the rollout, saying he’d like to see the figures higher.
Victorian chief health officer Brett Sutton defended keeping the mask rule for that age group as a “proportionate measure”.
“We’ve still got 7000 cases a day, and children aged five to 11 currently have the lowest vaccination coverage. So this is a proportionate measure, for their protection and for ours. It won’t be forever,” Professor Sutton tweeted on Wednesday.
“My primary school-aged kids have worked masks into their usual routine.
“They may not always wear them perfectly every day (and some children can’t wear them at all) but overall, this is going to put downward pressure on transmission.”
