Australia’s approval of its first COVID-19 vaccine will lift confidence and help fuel the country’s economic recovery from recession. The federal government announced on January 25 the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine has been approved for use in Australia by the Therapeutic Goods Administration, with the start of vaccination program due late February. “Australians can have confidence if the best regulator in the world approves the vaccine it is safe and effective,” Health Minister Greg Hunt told reporters in Canberra on Monday. The vaccine announcement came one year to the day after Australia recorded its first coronavirus infection. “It’s an encouraging development,” Commonwealth Securities chief economist Craig James told AAP. “It’s just adding to the positivity Down Under.” Australia is already enjoying a marked turnaround from its first recession in almost 30 years that was brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Recent figures show 90 percent of the jobs lost when the …