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Australians chasing COVID-19 vaccines like Hunger Games: Health minister amid low supply

WION Web Team
NEW DELHIUpdated: Jul 06, 2021, 04:18 PM IST
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Photograph:(AFP)

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"Until we obtain enough vaccines...the Hunger Games will continue to play out here in New South Wales (NSW)," the Australian minister Brad Hazzard added. 

The health minister of New South Wales, Australia's most populated state, likened receiving a vaccine in the country to the "Hunger Games." 

"I fear...it is almost a sense now of The Hunger Games, of people chasing vaccines," New South Wales (NSW) Health Minister Brad Hazzard said in response to a shortage of COVID-19 vaccines.

"Until we obtain enough vaccines...the Hunger Games will continue to play out here in NSW," the Australian minister added. 

The reference to the popular trilogy, which is set in a dystopian future in which a group of young people fight to the death in a televised battle, seems to be intended to highlight the desperation of many residents seeking appointments for the life-saving vaccines. 

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Australia has managed to vaccinate just 7% of its 25 million population — the lowest inoculation rate among industrialised nations.

Speedy contact tracing, lockdowns, tough social distancing rules and high community compliance have kept Australia’s COVID-19 numbers much lower among developed economies, with just over 30,800 cases and 910 deaths since the pandemic began.

(With inputs from agencies)