The COVID-19 vaccine rollout in Australia has begun

[MooTime]

I just tried the online booking.
Signed up, just email.
My existing booking showed up in mid July.
No other time options early or mid July for Jeff's shed.
6 week between Pfizer jabs.

Good to know & see booking system is working.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

My wife just got a call offering to book her for the second jab, having given trying the phone line and gone for a walk-in for the first jab. We'd already booked but it's good to see that they are finally getting things organised.

I'm still astounded they didn't book the second jab as soon as you checked in for the first one.

Yes mine was all done just after I had the first dose at the GP RC. It was part of their process.

Plus the GP Channel also always had online booking for the clinics. Smaller GP's due the 50 doses per week limit often did it by phone though.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

With no public holiday on yesterday Tuesday 16th June, 152,075 doses nationally were achieved.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I just tried the online booking.
Signed up, just email.
My existing booking showed up in mid July.
No other time options early or mid July for Jeff's shed.
6 week between Pfizer jabs.

Good to know & see booking system is working.

Same with a friend of mine. First pfizer dose on Monday 14/6, cannot get next booking until 6 weeks later (called today). So they're pushing it right to the limits.

 

[trevella]

The case for (at least) a third jab:

Why third jabs are inevitable

The variants are going to keep on circulating without another vaccine

unherd.com

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Same with a friend of mine. First pfizer dose on Monday 14/6, cannot get next booking until 6 weeks later (called today). So they're pushing it right to the limits.

Different hubs have different availabilities. Evidently Jeff's Shed is the busiest. Did you ask about others?

PS. A second jab at 8 weeks is mean to provide better protection. So 6 weeks is not a limit.

 

[kyle]

Same with a friend of mine. First pfizer dose on Monday 14/6, cannot get next booking until 6 weeks later (called today). So they're pushing it right to the limits.

I had my first shot on Tuesday. Called right away after I got home and just nominated a date for the second shot in five weeks' time at Jeff's Shed.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Different hubs have different availabilities. Evidently Jeff's Shed is the busiest. Did you ask about others?

PS. A second jab at 8 weeks is mean to provide better protection. So 6 weeks is not a limit.

Would have been The Shed or the Exhibition Buildings. Seems the advice is emerging that a longer period may be beneficial, but the 'official' spiel when you're getting the shot is that 'you must have your second dose between 3 and 6 weeks'.

 

[mviy]

Front Page of Tomorrow's "The West Australian". "WA's New Top Doctor in COVID Plea: People in 50s Deserve Pfizer Vaccine". This is referring to the incoming president of the WA branch of the AMA.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

The case for (at least) a third jab:

Why third jabs are inevitable

The variants are going to keep on circulating without another vaccine

unherd.com

And and it would seem that the planning for this in Australia is already well underway with the second part of the Moderna order which is for 15 million doses of booster, or variant-specific versions, of the vaccine.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

In very good news the NSW Government has just recently approved pharmacists to administer the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Details of how a rollout using pharmacists may look are still unknown. Though Greg Hunt recently made statements on extending the use of pharmacists in the vaccine rollout.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

While myocarditis cases do seem to be very rare and Pfizer/Moderna remains a very safe vaccine, they do seem to be occurring.

CDC Calls Emergency Meeting on Heart Inflammation Link to COVID Vaccines​

CDC Calls Emergency Meeting on Heart Inflammation Link to COVID Vaccines

An emergency meeting will be held June 18 to discuss rare reports of heart inflammation in people who've received the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday.

www.medicinenet.com

Are these numbers unusual?​

As we mentioned, people get myocarditis and pericarditis -- inflammation of the lining around the heart -- even without the Covid-19 vaccine. The CDC set out to determine if the numbers of post-vaccination myocarditis and pericarditis are higher than what you'd see without the Covid-19 vaccine.​

​

The answer was "yes" for people ages 16 to 24.​

​

The CDC found that among 16-and 17-year-olds, as of May 31, there were 79 reports of the illnesses soon after vaccination, and ordinarily you'd expect to see around two to 19 cases in this group. ​

​

Among 18-to-24 year olds, there were 196 reported cases, and you'd expect to see between 8 and 83 cases. ​

​

There were also reports of myocarditis and pericarditis in older age groups, but the numbers weren't higher than what you'd normally expect.​

Pediatric cardiologists explain myocarditis and why your teen should still get a Covid-19 vaccine

The news about a potential link between the Covid-19 vaccine and a cardiac ailment in young people may be striking fear in the hearts of some parents.

edition.cnn.com

Northwestern University student appears to have died from heart inflammation linked to COVID vaccine | The College Fix

The student paper said she died from ‘pneumonia complications.’…

www.thecollegefix.com

 

[Must...Fly!]

Front Page of Tomorrow's "The West Australian". "WA's New Top Doctor in COVID Plea: People in 50s Deserve Pfizer Vaccine". This is referring to the incoming president of the WA branch of the AMA.

For goodness sake this sort of rhetoric is just doing his state and therefore the nation a disservice.

I have enough relatives over 60 "waiting for Pfizer" and this will just encourage more.

 

[Pushka]

In very good news the NSW Government has just recently approved pharmacists to administer the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Details of how a rollout using pharmacists may look are still unknown. Though Greg Hunt recently made statements on extending the use of pharmacists in the vaccine rollout.


View attachment 250558

SA announced similar yesterday, starting in the country areas in a couple of weeks then 'if successful' throughout SA. I wonder what 'successful' actually means in this context?

 

[Lynda2475]

From July, 300 general practices will begin to deliver Pfizer

I find this depressing, it is already really hard to get an appointment at mass vac centre because the wait list for Pfizer is > 3 months now, yet they are diverting vaccines to GPs. If there are spare doses they should go to mass vac centres in first instance given the huge demand. Sending small amounts to random GPs is only going to make it harder to get vaccinated.

 

[bcworld]

Same with a friend of mine. First pfizer dose on Monday 14/6, cannot get next booking until 6 weeks later (called today). So they're pushing it right to the limits.

I had a totally different experience. I already had a 2nd dose booking but tried the centralised online system. My first dose was on 3/6. I was offered basically any time I wanted at convention centre from 25/6 onwards. I found availability at the Alfred (local to me) from 29/6 so booked that. Will cancel my previous booking which was up in Heidelberg.

 

[trevella]

Sending small amounts to random GPs is only going to make it harder to get vaccinated.

Not for people who prefer to get vaccinated at their GP’s, which is kind of the entire point of having multiple distribution channels.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

I find this depressing, it is already really hard to get an appointment at mass vac centre because the wait list for Pfizer is > 3 months now, yet they are diverting vaccines to GPs. If there are spare doses they should go to mass vac centres in first instance given the huge demand. Sending small amounts to random GPs is only going to make it harder to get vaccinated.

Cannot follow that logic. An arm is an arm.

Not everyone lives near a hub.

They are gearing up for when they will have 2 million doses per week to deliver. If we relied on hubs only the rollout would be very slow.

So the channels need to be expanded to over double their current capacity.

This expansion all helps to vaccinate the nation as soon as possible which is why it is good news. This is also why adding pharmacies is good news.


Plus some people prefer to be vaccinated by a GP and that helps with the vaccine hesitant.

 

[Batterytraveller]

From July, 300 general practices will begin to deliver Pfizer alongside AstraZeneca.

I hadn’t really disgusted this, but when I got may call from Coronavirus VIC about booking my second dose m, the lady did mention about booking my second dose with my GP. I assumed this was an error, but didn’t really think about it as I have my second dose booked.

good news, though, the more channels the better.

 

[Flying mermaid]

For goodness sake this sort of rhetoric is just doing his state and therefore the nation a disservice.

I have enough relatives over 60 "waiting for Pfizer" and this will just encourage more.

I have spent months trying to convince a 53 year old friend that he should have AZ rather than waiting for (or trying to scam) Pfizer. Sometimes perhaps you have to stop knocking your head against a brick wall and accept the reality. Given that over 50s are more at risk from a serious health outcome if they catch Covid perhaps there is now a case to allow them to get Pfizer. I would still prioritise anyone in 1A and 1B who needs it and then open up to the over 50s.