New Zealand has kicked off its official COVID-19 vaccination program with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, while Australia intends to start vaccinations on Monday.

In New Zealand, a small group of medical professionals were inoculated on Friday in Auckland prior to the more extensive rollout that officially started with border staff and Managed Isolation and Quarantine (MIQ) workers on Saturday. In Australia, hotel quarantine and healthcare workers will first get vaccinated at 16 Pfizer vaccination hubs across the country, besides older individuals in aged care facilities.

New Zealand anticipates that the national vaccination rollout covering the population of 5 million will take about a year. Australia plans to vaccinate its population of 25 million by October… (Reuters, February 20, 2021)