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Scott Morrison has said he can't guarantee that Australians will be living freely by Christmas and has admitted he should have ordered more Pfizer vaccines last year.
In a press conference on Wednesday, the Prime Minister said 'lockdowns become a thing of the past' when enough people are vaccinated and hoped Australians 'will be living life differently at Christmas'.
But on Thursday morning, Mr Morrison warned he can't guarantee lockdowns won't be needed next year to control the spread of Covid-19.
'No one can give those guarantees, Neil, because the virus is unpredictable,' he told 3aw broadcaster Neil Mitchell during a radio interview.
Earlier Mr Morrison told the Today show that the highly contagious Delta strain of the virus, which spawned in India in April, requires tougher restrictions than previous strains to control.
'The Delta strain is incredibly virulent and there is no country in the world that is not struggling,' he said.
'All around the world countries are wrestling with this and we have learnt a lot in recent weeks.
'Where the Delta strain hits you have to act quickly and we need to take that and move forward as quickly as we can.'
During his morning media blitz, Mr Morrison was also grilled about the slow vaccine rollout and admitted he has made mistakes.
Mr Morrison warned he can't guarantee lockdowns won't be needed next year to control the spread of Covid-19. Pictured: Police patrol Bondi Beach during lockdown
Only 16.7 per cent of Australians over 16 are fully jabbed, compared with 71.1 per cent of eligible Britons, 65.2 per cent of eligible Canadians and 49.4 per cent of eligible Americans.
The rollout has been hampered by supply