Covid 19 coronavirus: Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison receives the vaccine

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison was one of the first Australians to receive the Covid-19 vaccine in Sydney today, but the historic moment dissolved into laughter when Morrison’s attempt at a photo shoot went awry.

Marayong’s Jane Milysiak was selected to be the first to receive the jab and she did so alongside Prime Minister Scott Morrison at Castle Hill Medical Center in northwest Sydney on Sunday morning.

She was all smiles when she got the injection, sitting next to Morrison in a face mask adorned with the Australian flag.

Like any good politician, Morrison is not one to miss a photo opportunity, so after she was hit, he encouraged her to show the peace sign to the cameras, saying it meant “V for vaccine.”

After a few confused moments, Jane obeyed, but turned her hand the other way and inadvertently turned the bird over to the nation.

The room erupted in laughter, and the prime minister quickly shoved Jane’s hand down, saying “always in front, always in front.”

Australian Health Minister Greg Hunt said the vaccines were an important step in building public confidence in the vaccine before the national rollout begins in earnest tomorrow.

“Today the first group of people will be vaccinated, starting with two of our senior care residents, our critical senior care staff, frontline workers,” Hunt said.

“We also know that the chief physician and the chief nurse and the prime minister, to give confidence, the prime minister will be the last of that group.”

Insiders host David Speers asked if there was a danger that Morrison would be seen as “skipping the line.”

Hunt said that “there is a very strong focus on the need for key leaders, not Parliament, not the Cabinet, not even the leadership group, but a group of cross parties, to provide that confidence.”

He added that Australian opposition leader Anthony Albanese would be vaccinated this week.

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said that she and her family members will be vaccinated, but that they were not the priority, but frontline border workers.

“I will absolutely be vaccinated.”

Yesterday, the first MIQ worker from New Zealand received the Covid-19 vaccine.

Border and Managed Isolation and Quarantine (MIQ) workers will be the first to be vaccinated.

Vaccination of border workers is expected to take two to three weeks, including cleaners, nurses, security personnel, customs and border officials, airline personnel, hotel workers, and all of their household contacts.

Healthcare, essential workers and those most at risk will follow in the second quarter of the year.

The recommended dose is two pricks, 21 days apart. It is not yet known if people will need to receive a new jab each year.