The decision by the Victorian government to order a snap five-day lockdown from midnight on Friday shows just how crucial the COVID-19 vaccination program will be. As Nobel laureate Peter Doherty said, if we want to avoid this sort of constant economic and social disruption, we are going to need a vaccination rate of over 80 per cent.

That will mean retaining confidence in the vaccines themselves, and getting them out as quickly and efficiently as possible. And that will need good, efficient management of the first phases of distribution and administration in hospitals, residential aged care, general practice and pharmacies.