Australia Spent Almost $50 billion Combating COVID

Australia’s health system has spent nearly $50 billion on COVID-19, a new report has revealed, while the authorities warn of a “plunge” in vaccination rates and urge the public to close the gap. A total of $47.9 billion (US$32 billion), or 7.2 percent of overall health spending was billed in the response to COVID-19 in Australia between 2019-20 and 2021-22, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW). Three-quarters ($35.1 billion) was contributed by the Australian government, and a quarter was contributed by state and territory governments ($11.9 billion). $27.9 billion went to primary care, including public health spending on the vaccine rollout ($6.1 billion), and public hospitals ($10.5 billion)....