The Australian government has agreed to purchase 51 million doses of a new COVID-19 vaccine. 

The new vaccine called Novavax, developed in Maryland, America, has been found to be 90 percent effective against COVID-19. 

The vaccine is set to be available to the public later this year.

The UK and Australia have agreed on the first trade deal post-BREXIT after the first meeting between Scott Morrison and Boris Johnson post-covid. 

The trade deal will extend the Working-Holiday VISA age to 35 for both countries and will liberalise imports up to 99%, specifically goods such as Australian beef, lamb and sugar. 

The deal will also introduce a new “agricultural VISA” which will allow citizens to work on farms in either country.

Victoria has recorded three new COVID-19 cases as the state awaits an announcement on the ease of restrictions today. 

The Victorian health department have said the three new cases are linked to known current outbreaks. 

The three cases come before a possible easing of restrictions on Friday.

The State government handed down the budget this Tuesday declaring a Labor pledge to further invest in health, education, environment, job seeker, tourism and social housing.

$16.8 billion will be dedicated towards education; opening four new schools in 2023 and 10 in 2024.

The government will invest $270 million into The Great Barrier Reef and $500 million into a Carbon Reduction Investment fund along with a $2 billion investment into renewable energy.

Brisbane researchers are hoping that an in-progress nasal spray could soon protect people from COVID-19. 

The revolutionary vaccine will be administered in the the form of two sprays in the nose, meaning those who dislike needles could avoid the jab altogether.

Researchers at Brisbane’s Nucleus Network say that the other vaccines in use mostly protect against developing severe symptoms of COVID-19, doctors have specifically designed this new one to prevent infection in the first place.

Researchers are looking for 60 volunteers to trial the vaccine.

The US death toll from COVID-19 has reached 600,000, now equaling the number of American lives lost due to cancer each year. 

Despite the drop in daily cases and fatalities, the milestone comes on the same day as the most populous state of California, lifted most of their remaining restrictions. 

The ease of restrictions come after it was found that 44% of Americans are fully vaccinated. 

Tamil asylum seeker, Tharnicaa Murugappan has been reunited with her family following a week of separation, due to Tharnica being flown to Perth to treat her sepsis diagnosis

The reunion comes after Federal immigration minister Alex Hawke announced the family would be permitted to reside in Suburban Perth

Supporters in Perth and across the nation have been holding rallies and vigils, calling on the government to let the family stay in the country.

An American citizen, Mark Kilian, has been denied a compassionate exemption into Queensland to say goodbye to his terminally ill father even though he has been vaccinated and was approved by NSW Health.

Queensland Health stated in a response to Kilian’s request, “the circumstances outweigh the risk to the Australian community”.

Kilian has now been placed in a 14-day hotel quarantine and is awaiting a response from the Queensland border authorities.