General COVID-19 Vaccine Discussion

[lovetravellingoz]

Agree on face value but perhaps Victoria has a higher percentage of people at risk - ie in residential care?

That info does not actually detail total doses per state, let alone over a common time period.

Also as I understand it the rate per week who get vaccinated will accelerate.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

I think it is worth remembering that there are a lot of sub-categories in 1a.

Who can get vaccinated

Everyone in Australia aged 5 years and over is eligible for a free COVID-19 vaccination. Find out more.

www.health.gov.au

I suspect that my middle daughter will get vaccinated early on as she works in a Respiratory and Infectious Diseases Ward where all her patients are health compromised, some of them die most weeks and where CV19 is only one of the current infectious diseases in play that she and her colleagues have to deal with. There are many such as her, and her patients, that need to be vaccinated before we in the average public are. That will be what the Feds will have assessed in their rollout. Those most at risk, and under threat, will get it first.

 

[Bundy Bear]

If Australia can dispense 18 million flu vaccines how hard will it be to do the COViD vaccine, should be pretty easy to complete by July.

As Australia has been closed off to the rest of the world will a Flu vaccine be required this year.

 

[SydneySwan]

Number of doses available and number of people vaccinated are not the same thing.

It will be interesting if information is made available about the vaccine 'wastage' rates in each state! We will be able to start a whole new round of interstate debates!

 

[Lynda2475]

It was reported last week Andrews whinged and Vic were given extra doses from those being held by Feds to provide security for second doses should further imports be delayed. No justification given for why Vic needed more than what the formula dictacted. It doeent sit well with me, and we deserve to know why?

perhaps Victoria has a higher percentage of people at risk - ie in residential care?

Doubtful, median age in Vic is lower than median age in NSW, so not likely they have more old people given population is only 80% of NSW. Vic would also have fewer HQ workers as when they actually take arrivals (and this is currently suspended indefinitely) they take 1/2 or less the quota that NSW take.

Nsw and Qld have promised detailed daily vaccination reporting, can only hope Vic do likewise so we can see whether any dodgy deals have been done.

 

[Lynda2475]

It will be interesting if information is made available about the vaccine 'wastage' rates in each state! We will be able to start a whole new round of interstate debates!

Well all states are going to be unable to use 1 in 6 doses because we dont have the correct type of syringes available, so cant get all the vaccine out of the vials with regular syringes, so huge wastage before we get to any human error or scheduling issues.

Hopefully like they do in the UK, there is ability for people who live or work near vaccination centre to register for standbye shots. So if people miss appointments and there are doses which need to be given before closure to avoid wastage, they call stand bye to ensure doses dont go unused. A friemd in London in early 40s, got her first shot because sh3 worked near a centre and they put out a call after a bunch of oldies failed to show up.

 

[drron]

Exactly. And it's something that I'm personally concerned about, being in Group 1B.

Further, I'm also concerned about the reports of widespread instances of side effects with the AZ vaccine in Europe, something that doesn't seem to have been mentioned much here in Australia...

Scepticism over Oxford vaccine threatens Europe's immunisation push

German politicians voice support for jab after only 17% of doses delivered to country are administered so far

www.theguardian.com

That is at total odds with the results published in the journals where there appeared to be less side effects with the AZ virus.As well the results post vaccination in the UK are better than the traial evidence.Transmission cut by 76% after 1 dose and 82% after the second dose.

Also what you probably unaware of the reporting of side effects of drug or vaccine trials is more strict in the UK than the EU or USA.

Oxford Covid-19 vaccine Q&A: How effective is it, and how is it different to the Pfizer vaccine?

The rollout of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine has begun in the UK - here is everything we know so far

www.telegraph.co.uk

All the COVID-19 Vaccine Side Effects, Explained

Experts and vaccine takers lay it all out.

www.menshealth.com

Oxford's Covid vaccine is effective in all adults including over-65s, say WHO

THE Oxford/AstraZeneca jab is effective in all adults – including over-65s – the World Health Organisation announced today. It comes after EU leaders repeatedly made baseless claims abo…

www.thesun.co.uk

 

[Must...Fly!]

Typical vaccination programs have wastage of around 25% so by that metric it shouldn't be too bad. Hopefully we have a way of a quick booking system for leftover doses before they expire.

 

[Must...Fly!]

Constant disinformation about the AZ vaccine is unreal. It's safe and effective, provides you with a very high level of protection against ending up in hospital which is all we should really need, for now at least.

 

[oz_mark]

If Australia can dispense 18 million flu vaccines how hard will it be to do the COViD vaccine, should be pretty easy to complete by July.

As Australia has been closed off to the rest of the world will a Flu vaccine be required this year.

I have had some contact from Pharmacies about flu vaccine bookings, so I guess they are rolling out too...

 

[jonboixxx]

Watching the rallies on the news tonight.. imagine a world if they are right and they're the only ones left standing!

I can imagine that. It would be in a parallel universe.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

It was reported last week Andrews whinged and Vic were given extra doses from those being held by Feds to provide security for second doses should further imports be delayed. No justification given for why Vic needed more than what the formula dictacted. It doeent sit well with me, and we deserve to know why?

I doubt the Fed's running the program would be swayed by any Premier's whinging. What were the actual words used?

ABC news re: initial vaccine distribution - not sure how accurate or complete the numbers are....so calmly take with a grain of salt.

Here is the plan for the vaccine roll out in each state and territory​

• NSW will aim vaccinate 35,000 frontline workers within the first three weeks
• The Victorian Government will have 12,000 doses for the first week of phase 1a and up to 59,000 doses for the first four weeks

If we apply a little maths to make things more directly comparable:

​

How quickly will I be protected from COVID-19?​

After your first dose, you will need a second dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine at least 21 days later to complete the vaccination schedule. It is important that you receive two doses of the same vaccine. You may not be protected against COVID-19 until seven days after your second dose. ​

So Vic will consume 59,000 does in 4 weeks. As it is 2 doses per person some of those will probably be second doses and so it will be say 37,000 -45,000 odd people from all the categories who have received one or two doses in the first 4 weeks..

NSW will vaccinate 35,000 frontline workers alone in the first three weeks. Plus care residents. So presumably at the end of 4 weeks it will be say 46.5K of frontline workers.

Now according to NSW Health:
In NSW, the first people to receive a COVID-19 vaccine will include:

• Healthcare workers working in locations with a higher risk of exposure to, and transmission of COVID-19, such as emergency departments, COVID-19 testing clinics, and COVID-19 wards;
• Staff working in designated quarantine facilities;
• Residents and staff of residential aged and disability care facilities.

So add to that 46.5K the extra people who will be vaccinated but are not healthcare workers.

So after 4 weeks (and using HappyFlyerFamily's grain of salt):

• In Vic 37K plus people vaccinated (Adjusted to NSW population size that is 44K plus)
• In NSW say 46.5K frontline workers plus X thousand elderly and disabled people who are residents in facilities.

So if we convert the apples and oranges to just oranges it is roughly about the same vaccination rate in NSW and Victoria.

 

[jonboixxx]

Every consultation has an item number. Every PBS script written is encoded. It would be real easy for someone to write a report(s), in say SQL to automatically identify needy cases, such as allergies, immune drugs, cancer, rare conditions, sorted by age, state name and medicare number and cost of benefits consumed in the last 12 months, excluding those who are dead or overseas. It would be negligent for the minister or any committee NOT to know these numbers. Someone should pop that question to the minister - using medicare history - is there enough pifzer to go around. Bonus points for the report to adjust for conditions like pregnancy, and those who did time in jail or remand, morbidly obese who sting PBS, and sexworker politicians who kiss babies.

There should also be an easy list - Those that had the traditional flu shot every year, and who never had any trouble with it. These people can go into the fast lane, walk-in and walk-out jobs.

There should be a closing the gap service, so really remote areas get a dose of drugs to treat scabies. The problem here is there are NO doctors in some places. One minister was fond of saying 'Must pass the Melville Island Test' later extended to APY land.

You might assume a connectivity of the multitude of federal health programs and databases, which would be incorrect. So not real easy, unfortunately.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

It will be interesting if information is made available about the vaccine 'wastage' rates in each state! We will be able to start a whole new round of interstate debates!

I doubt there would be much difference. Though smaller locations and far flung regional centres would be more problematic.


Initially they are doing priority staff and residents in facilities. So basically populations from which they they can control a steady supply of arms to to be vaccinated.

Wastage would be more likely in later phases when people start booking appointments for themselves and some of them not showing up for various reasons, running late etc.

In the 1a stage my guess would be that some 1b healthcare workers will get vaccinated from some of the available "wastage" vaccine simply because they will be readily on hand and are also in the next category to be vaccinated (So better them, than randoms off the street).

 

[dajop]

I am sure it will be all worked out, such that no-one is going to miss out.

But if we really must do an apples vs apples comparison, Canberra seems to be the one that's getting the most first

• The Victorian Government will have 12,000 doses for the first week
• In the ACT, about 4,000 doses have been flagged for the first week
• About 5,000 doses will be coming to WA each week ...

So in the first week for every 100,000 people, Vic gets 179 doses, WA 187 doses and ACT 928 ..... But I'm sure it will all work out in the long run. No need to be panicked by inequitable rollout, based on the forecast for the first few weeks.

 

[Pushka]

I have had some contact from Pharmacies about flu vaccine bookings, so I guess they are rolling out too...

Have mine booked for mid March to get it out of the way.

 

[DavidJR]

Question - For those who like to frequently travel overseas, would you trust the AZ vaccine to provide protection while travelling? I can understand that this vaccine would be suitable for those who stay in Australia......however, surely a vaccine that provides greater efficacy is warranted. I note that our diplomatic staff are lining up early, in the hope of scoring the Pfizer jab!

 

[Pushka]

Question - For those who like to frequently travel overseas, would you trust the AZ vaccine to provide protection while travelling? I can understand that this vaccine would be suitable for those who stay in Australia......however, surely a vaccine that provides greater efficacy is warranted. I note that our diplomatic staff are lining up early, in the hope of scoring the Pfizer jab!

I don't think we will have a choice this time round once AZ becomes available.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Question - For those who like to frequently travel overseas, would you trust the AZ vaccine to provide protection while travelling? I can understand that this vaccine would be suitable for those who stay in Australia......however, surely a vaccine that provides greater efficacy is warranted. I note that our diplomatic staff are lining up early, in the hope of scoring the Pfizer jab!

allegedly... the AZ/oxford vaccine is close to 100% effective in reducing severe disease/illness/hospitalisation. For me, that’s good enough!

 

[drron]

Question - For those who like to frequently travel overseas, would you trust the AZ vaccine to provide protection while travelling? I can understand that this vaccine would be suitable for those who stay in Australia......however, surely a vaccine that provides greater efficacy is warranted. I note that our diplomatic staff are lining up early, in the hope of scoring the Pfizer jab!

I'm certainly happy to have the AZ vaccine and travel OS even to the UK.