14 December 2021

The Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) welcomes the announcement of a new mRNA vaccine manufacturing facility in Victoria. The RACP says the plan will put Australia in the best possible position to help protect communities from current and future infectious respiratory diseases.

RACP President and Respiratory Physician, Professor John Wilson says “Having a large-scale mRNA vaccine manufacturing facility here in Australia is a game changer. It means we will be able to produce vaccines ourselves and not be reliant on overseas shipments.

“We saw the problems caused by not having our own vaccine manufacturing capabilities, when earlier this year our supplies of COVID-19 vaccines were limited, right when we needed them the most.

“This investment will save lives and help to protect our healthcare system from being overwhelmed with illnesses that could be alleviated by locally produced respiratory vaccines.

“As a trans-Tasman organisation, we hope that the establishment of mRNA vaccine production in Australia will also benefit our neighbours in Aotearoa New Zealand.

“This also has potential to expand the Australian Government’s capability to support greater vaccination coverage in our region through the Australian Government Indo-Pacific Centre for Health Security.

“As COVID-19 is a global pandemic, we need to do everything possible to ensure that vaccination coverage in developing countries continues to rise so we can minimise the ongoing impacts of COVID-19.

“We’re pleased to see the announcement also includes support for medical research and innovation projects which will advance our capacity to conduct clinical trials.

“We commend the Federal and Victorian Governments for reaching this agreement with Moderna. This is an agreement that will significantly progress Australia's medical manufacturing capability and place Australia in a better position to manage future pandemics.” Professor Wilson said.