Greg Hunt has come under more heavy fire after bombshell details emerged about his dealings with Pfizer for the Covid-19 vaccine rollout.
Today show host Karl Stefanovic accused the federal health minister of 'dragging his feet' in a fiery interview on Thursday over the Pfizer fiasco which saw Australia sign its deal long after the US and UK.
Leaked emails revealed Pfizer asked to meet Mr Hunt early last year to offer Australia doses of its vaccine but he instead sent a public servant in his place.
On June 30 last year a Pfizer representative contacted the Health Department to request the meeting, saying the American company had 'the potential to supply millions of vaccine doses [around the world] by the end of 2020'.
Mr Hunt left it to First Assistant Secretary in the Health Department Lisa Schofield to respond and three days later she said that she - not the minister - would attend a virtual meeting on July 10.
The minister copped an intense grilling on Thursday as Stefanovic repeatedly quizzed him on why he didn't accept the pharmaceutical giant's request to meet them.
'Why didn't you meet with Pfizer?' Stefanovic demanded to know.
'I'd already engaged with Pfizer,' Mr Hunt replied.
'But not met with them,' Stefanovic interrupted.
Mr Hunt argued: 'No country in the world at this time had an agreement.'
'But you didn't meet. Greg, why didn't you meet? I mean, this is very important stuff. This is securing Australia's Pfizer supply. Why couldn't you meet?' Stefanovic responded.
'What we created, to look across the world with over 100 different vaccine candidates, was a vaccine taskforce and scientific and technical advisory group led by Brendan Murphy and one of the most senior people in the department.
'They worked right across all of these agreements. We were deeply engaged.'
'It looked to me like you were dragging your feet,' the Today host replied.
'You were asked to supply a confidential agreement at the time. Pretty standard.
'On 6 July, the bureaucrat responds there is no need to meet with the global heads of Pfizer.
'They say there is no need. Signing a CDA isn't usual practice. We have a senior bureaucrat saying, "It's alright. We don't need to meet the bosses or sign an agreement".
'Except we did.'
Mr Hunt confirmed he did not meet with Pfizer executives but his office 'engaged' with the pharmaceutical giant.
'This was done by the head of the vaccine taskforce who was leading those negotiations for the whole of the government,' Mr Hunt said
Pfizer signed separate vaccine agreements with the UK and US governments in late July 2020, while Australia did not sign a formal deal until November 2020.
Mr Hunt insisted Australia did not miss out.
'Pfizer yesterday, as they said before the Senate, made it clear there were no earlier doses available.
'What we received was the earliest possible available and we received it in the quantities that they made available. That's because, understandably, they were focusing on mass death in the countries where they were producing.'
In the email (pictured) on June 30, a Pfizer rep wrote: 'I am able to make senior members of Pfizer's global leadership team available for this discussion, particularly if the Minister and/or Departmental leadership can be involved'
Airport workers offloading pallets of UK Pfizer vaccination doses from a flight that arrived in Sydney on Sunday
The US and the UK signed deals to buy millions of doses from Pfizer in July but no-one from Mr Hunt's office met the company until August 4.
Australia finally signed a deal for a measly 10million doses in November. The first doses arrived in February, two months after the US and UK had already rolled them out.
Labor health spokesman Mark Butler claimed the emails, which were released on the Health Department website last month, showed Mr Hunt 'couldn't be bothered' to sign vaccine deals.
'While other countries were signing Pfizer deals, our government couldn't even be bothered arranging a meeting,' he said.
'Australians are paying the price of Scott Morrison's incompetence; we have more people in lockdown and fewer people fully vaccinated than any other developed country.'
Mr Hunt refuted the allegation, saying: 'The Department began working with Pfizer shortly after the pandemic began.
'The Department's first formal meeting with Pfizer was on 10 July after
