Good morning. Political ructions in South America, frustration over aged care vaccination schedules, and praise for Australia’s resistance to China dominate the national and international headlines this Thursday. Here are your top stories.

The federal government has faced criticism for failing to vaccinate aged care staff, while only half of Australia’s care residents have received priority vaccinations, despite a plan for both groups to receive their shots in the first six weeks of the rollout. The Council on the Ageing chief executive, Ian Yates, condemned the apparent lack of a “clear strategy” from Canberra, saying, “there’s no clarity around the timetable and process for the vaccination of aged care workers”. Yates also emphasised that staff could potentially be vectors for the virus, and that their prompt vaccination was critical to the safety of care residents. Despite missing its original target of 4m vaccinations by the end of March, the federal health minister, Greg Hunt, said the national program was now “accelerating as intended”.