Australia's Covid vaccination nearing milestone

Canberra, Sep 24 (IANS) Australia's Covid-19 vaccine rollout is about to hit a milestone with half of the adult population fully inoculated against the virus, according to official data released on Friday.

According to the data released by the Department of Health, 74.1 per cent of Australians aged 16 and older have received at least one Covid-19 vaccine dose and 49.3 per cent are fully vaccinated, reports Xinhua news agency.

"We're now round about 75 per cent first dose and 50 per cent second dose," Prime Minister Scott Morrison said.

"It's going to make a big difference as we continue to surge towards those necessary targets of 70 and 80 per cent, that will open Australia up."

On Friday morning, Australia reported more than 1,700 new locally-acquired Covid cases as the country continues to battle the third wave of the pandemic.

Since the onset of the pandemic early last year, Australia has registered 92,179 confirmed Covid-19 cases and 1,196 deaths.