Australia and England swap millions of vaccine doses

Barter can increase efficiency. The Financial Times has the story:

Australia strikes deal to ‘swap’ 4m vaccine doses with UK  by William Langley and Oliver Barnes 

"The UK will send 4m Covid-19 vaccine doses to Australia in a swap deal aimed at accelerating Canberra’s stuttering rollout and bolstering British supplies later in the year when ministers are pushing for a booster campaign. 

"The first batch of 292,000 BioNTech/Pfizer doses will arrive in Australia in the coming days, with the remainder due by the end of the month, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Friday. 

"Australia will return an equivalent 4m doses before the end of the year, according to the UK health department.

"The deal is designed to speed up Australia’s vaccination rollout, which has been one of the slowest in the world, and Morrison said it would allow the government to bring forward its prospective reopening date.

"It reflects the UK’s calculation that it does not currently need all its stockpiled doses, which expire in a matter of months if not used, while allowing London to boost supplies later this year in anticipation of a broad booster campaign and the vaccination of 12 to 15-year-olds."