Morning mail: experts back mass vaccination hubs, hope after Chauvin verdict, sedentary killer

Thursday: epidemiologists say mass hubs in sites such as Bunnings could put Australia's vaccination program back on track. Plus: why sedentary living is a bigger killer than obesity

Good morning. Covid-19 dominates the headlines both domestically and internationally this Thursday, while in the United States the outpouring of emotion continues following the Derek Chauvin murder conviction.

Health experts have backed a proposal by hardware company Bunnings to set up vaccination hubs in store carparks, in a bid to assist the federal government's vaccine rollout. Epidemiologist Hassan Vally says mass vaccination centres could help nudge" nationwide efforts, stating: If people go to Bunnings and can get their sausage sandwich after their vaccine on the way out, that's a good thing." It's welcome news for Scott Morrison who faces ongoing criticism over his government's glacial pace" of vaccine delivery, a plight seemingly shared by New Zealand. Meanwhile, state and territory leaders are expected to debate whether Australia's 1,400-strong Olympic delegation should be fast-tracked for vaccination. And elsewhere, a new report has found that the rate of dementia deaths declined during the Covid-19 pandemic. In Western Australia, two returned travellers have contracted Covid-19 in hotel quarantine in Perth, sparking an investigation into the source of the infections. And in Sydney, health officials are investigating whether Covid-19 has spread inside a second quarantine hotel.