Players' boss against Test stars 'jumping vaccine queue'

Australian cricket's player union chair Greg Dyer has slammed Cricket Australia's request to have the nation's Test stars considered for priority vaccination to ensure the upcoming tour of South Africa moves ahead.

CA and the South African board are currently thrashing out the details of a biosecurity plan to assure the three-Test series goes ahead in March.

CA's chief medical officer John Orchard has reportedly written to the nation's chief medical officer, Paul Kelly, "to investigate whether there is any possibility of obtaining a dose of any of these vaccines in Australia or elsewhere prior to Feb 24" when the team is due to depart, according to a News Corp report over the weekend.

While CA would only require a few dozen of the first batch of vaccines, Dyer said it was "morally indefensible" for sportspeople to be given priority access ahead of high-risk groups and frontline workers.

"My personal view is that sportspeople generally should not be jumping the queue," Dyer told the Sydney Morning Herald.

"The sports can and have been managing the situation without vaccines and should continue to do so. It's just the wrong look. There are more important people out there with much higher levels of exposure who need the vaccines first.

"It's just wrong and will only bring all sorts of people out of the woodwork saying "what the hell's going on here? Why are they being given this benefit?"

"It's not morally defensible for sportspeople to jump the queue is my view and the sports have been able to manage around the position and they should continue to do so."

Cricket Australia says it has not lodged a formal request for early vaccination with the government, but was holding discussions as to how the rollout plan aligned with their intended departure date of Febuary 24.

"The Australian men's cricket team is scheduled to tour South Africa in February," Orchard said in a CA statement.

"Accordingly, Cricket Australia has sought the advice of the Australian government to ensure the squad's safe passage to and from South Africa.

"As part of those discussions, CA has requested clarification on whether the Government's timeline on COVID-19 vaccinations aligns with the Australian team's travel to South Africa."