Covid 19 coronavirus: Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison apologises for slow vaccine rollout

Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Photo / AP

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has apologised for the slow rollout of vaccinations in his country.

For days he's been asked to say sorry for the fact Australia has the lowest vaccination rate in the OECD, which is a key reason half of the country is now in lockdown.

"I take responsibility for the vaccination programme," he said.

"I'm sorry that we haven't been able to achieve the marks that we had hoped for at the beginning of this year. Of course I am. But what's more important is that we're totally focused on ensuring that we've been turning this around."

However, he also said that he took responsibility "for the things that have worked as well".

Morrison also announced that local pharmacies will be able to administer the AstraZeneca vaccine from next week.

Meanwhile, New South Wales has been delivered a fresh blow in the state's fight against Covid. There were 124 new locally acquired cases of coronavirus recorded in the 24 hours to 8pm on Wednesday – the worst day in the entire pandemic.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the Delta strain was like "nothing we've seen before" and people in NSW should assume everyone they come across could be infected.

Greater Sydney was due to end its lockdown on July 31, but that looks increasingly unlikely.