The COVID-19 vaccine rollout in Australia has begun

[Lynda2475]

The first statement on state-run mass vaccination centres not giving the AZ to under 60s is factually untrue.

If you had first shot prior to the advice changing you can get your second BUT NSW Health is not offering AZ to general public under 60 at the state run mass vaccination clinics. This is because you need a GP consult and this service isn't provided at the State hubs.

Of the 26 state run mass vaccination clinics (they are Olympic Park and a bunch of hospitals, the other two non hospital hubs at Lake Macquarie and Wollongong are not open yet) only Olympic Park was offering AZ.

Don't get confused with Commonwealth Respiratory Clinics run by GPs. These have been doing AZ.

As an under 50 in 1b you would have eligible for Pfizer from the start. You getting offered only AZ might be result of going to a GPRC or GP and not the state hubs, in fact if you are fully vaccinated with AZ you likely didn't go to state hub as Olympic Park didn't open till May.

 

[justinbrett]

If you had first shot prior to the advice changing you can get your second BUT NSW Health is not offering AZ to general public under 60 at the state run mass vaccination clinics. Because you need a GP consult and this service isn't provided at the State hubs.

Of the 26 state run mass vaccination clinics (Olympic Park and hospitals,, the other two non hospital hubs at Lake Macquarie and Wollongong are not open yet) only Olympic Park was offering AZ.

Don't get confused with Commonwealth Respiratory Clinics run by GPs. These have been doing AZ.

As an under 50 in 1b you would have eligible for Pfizer from the start. Might be result of going to a GPRC or GP not state hub, in fact if you are fully vaccinated with AZ you likely didn't go to state hub as Olympic Park didn't open till May.

I'm fairly certain you can get your second dose from state hubs if you are under 60

 

[jakeseven7]

I didn't call anyone names, I called the claim that there are heaps of under 40s rocking up for walking bs, because I'm at the main centre now and it isn't the case.

The messaging in NSW at the presser, on the NSW gov and nsw health websites etc is absolutely consistent. No walk-ins, if under 60 and want AZ go to GP.

So the ABC are lying... sure ok then Must have been actors in the lines

Hope your jab went well! Did you get a lollipop??!

 

[justinbrett]

I didn't call anyone names, I called the claim that there are heaps of under 40s rocking up for walking bs, because I'm at the main centre now and it isn't the case.

The messaging in NSW at the presser, on the NSW gov and nsw health websites etc is absolutely consistent. No walk-ins, if under 60 and want AZ go to GP.

I saw the footage also and it wasn't just ABC (I saw it on nine and seven). But just because they were lining up for AZ doesn't mean they got it. And they may be exempt workers who had an appointment. But they were in a queue saying they wanted AZ.

 

[Lynda2475]

Right now you have to jump through hoops, booking appointments, filling out questionnaires, seeing which clinics have availablity

Vaccines are not over the counter medications, they need to verify your eligibility and identity. Further if you opt to not take the standard recommended option you need a GP consult to make sure it's safe.

Process may have been complicated for you choosing to use hot docs (a gp booking app) rather than the official sites.

 

[jakeseven7]

Wasted an hour watching it yesterday. Don’t think they were anymore unhinged than usual. However it was a Master class in refusing to take any responsibility, deflection and cleverly tapping into popular social media hysteria about returning Australians in order to create targets for the populace to bay after.

Was talking to Dr FM last night and she said she didn’t have time to watch it but some of the nurses were and she gathered from the way they were shaking their heads they weren’t happy with it.

The QLD CHO is arguably the least qualified of all the CHO’s but seems to do things in a very different way to the rest of them... so I wonder why that is... and this leads to a lot of the head shaking you describe amongst the health professionals up here....

Anyway four more months of this nonsense and then hopefully someone more relevantly qualified and perhaps also compassionate will be appointed. Fingers crossed for us.

We’d happily have Chant or Sutton if they wanted a warmer climate Maybe Ie I’ll tweet them and offer the job

 

[kangarooflyer88]

If you had first shot prior to the advice changing you can get your second BUT NSW Health is not offering AZ to general public under 60 at the state run mass vaccination clinics. Because you need a GP consult and this service isn't provided at the State hubs.

Of the 26 state run mass vaccination clinics (Olympic Park and hospitals,, the other two non hospital hubs at Lake Macquarie and Wollongong are not open yet) only Olympic Park was offering AZ.

Don't get confused with Commonwealth Respiratory Clinics run by GPs. These have been doing AZ.

As an under 50 in 1b you would have eligible for Pfizer from the start. Might be result of going to a GPRC or GP and not state hub, in fact if you are fully vaccinated with AZ you likely didn't go to state hub as Olympic Park didn't open till May.

Double checked where I went and you are right, it was a Commonwealth-run respiratory clinic I went to in Ryde. Interestingly, you could book the whole thing online via the HotDocs service. When I booked in late March it was just AZ available and didn't think much of it. But it was brilliant loads of availability for the week and when I went in to get that first shot it was just me and an elderly patient with 6 nurses waiting around to administer the vaccine. I felt like I was VIP or something

My philosophy from the get-go was to get vaccinated ASAP. I was perturbed when my GP told me I had to go to the respiratory clinic since I'm an international student and don't have Medicare, delaying my vaccination by two weeks. I am immunocompromised and my specialist in Canada and locally in Australia both told me just get the vaccine. There's a lot we don't know about how COVID could impact someone with an autoimmune disease like mine. You can go years or decades without a flare-up then this dumb virus comes around and causes a flare.

Let's hope the eagerness amongst the youth to get vaccinated remains. I know it may frustrate some in those vaccination hubs to see people lining up when they don't qualify under the current protocol, but on the bright side, it's a sign of resounding support towards the program. The key now will be maintaining that interest - I suspect there will be some peer pressure when Aussies see the stuff people elsewhere could pull now that their community is vaccinated (e.g. not having to wear masks, not having to worry about lockdowns, travelling wherever they want whenever they want, etc.). However, I suspect the commonwealth and industry will need to offer some carrots to keep things moving especially when supply outstrips demand. I see some states in the US have lotteries set up to award a couple of lucky vaccinated folks. Perhaps QF could throw in a few of those 100 Year Q-Tags to get the AFF community on board

--KangarooFlyer88

 

[justinbrett]

The QLD CHO is arguably the least qualified of all the CHO’s but seems to do things in a very different way to the rest of them... so I wonder why that is... and this leads to a lot of the head shaking you describe amongst the health professionals up here....

Anyway four more months of this nonsense and then hopefully someone more relevantly qualified and perhaps also compassionate will be appointed. Fingers crossed for us.

We’d happily have Chant or Sutton if they wanted a warmer climate Maybe Ie I’ll tweet them and offer the job

The former deputy federal CHO said “I want to say that nearly every medical leader distances themselves from Doctor Young’s comments yesterday which is unfortunately out on a very lonely limb,” he said.

Also, The country’s two largest organisations representing doctors contradicted Dr Young, with the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners accusing the Queensland government of “scaremongering”. “She is definitely scaremongering because she is putting it out there and saying ‘they can’t have their own choice, I’m making a choice for them’,” Dr Hespe told 2GB radio in Sydney.

 

[kangarooflyer88]

Vaccines are not over the counter medications, they need to verify your eligibility and identify. Further if you opt to not take the standard recommended option you need a GP consult to make sure it's safe.

Process may have been complicated for you choosing to use hotbox (a gp booking app) rather than the official sites.

I mean yeah I guess vaccines are a bit more regulated. But let me ask you this, why is it I can walk into a PriceLine right now and get my flu shot, be in and out in like 20 minutes. But for a slightly different vaccine like Pfizer's COVID-19, I have to jump through all these hoops? And unlike the flu vaccine, this vaccine actually depends on many receiving the jab to be successful. If someone doesn't get the flu jab one year they may not catch it or if they do they feel like cough for 2 weeks and that's it. However, if not enough people get the COVID vaccine we'll be going back and forth with restrictions, lockdowns and other nonsense.

-KangarooFlyer88

 

[justinbrett]

Process may have been complicated for you choosing to use hotbox (a gp booking app) rather than the official sites.

If you choose hotbox you'll probably end up with some Thai food, not a vaccine

 

[Flying mermaid]

Well I don't know what to tell you, I'm looking at it right now (and it was posted in table form by other poster above).

Edit: I think you might be looking at total doses, we were discussing total vaccinated (at least one dose)

This is the problem, there's so many metrics, you can find one to match your point!

Exactly - it all changed depending on what I picked. So I think I will continue with the CovidLive snapshot, which I have been using for my weekly vaccination stakes update for months, as it gives me a consistency

 

[kangarooflyer88]

The QLD CHO is arguably the least qualified of all the CHO’s but seems to do things in a very different way to the rest of them... so I wonder why that is... and this leads to a lot of the head shaking you describe amongst the health professionals up here....

The former deputy federal CHO said “I want to say that nearly every medical leader distances themselves from Doctor Young’s comments yesterday which is unfortunately out on a very lonely limb,” he said.

Also, The country’s two largest organisations representing doctors contradicted Dr Young, with the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners accusing the Queensland government of “scaremongering”. “She is definitely scaremongering because she is putting it out there and saying ‘they can’t have their own choice, I’m making a choice for them’,” Dr Hespe told 2GB radio in Sydney.

What was most disgusting about that press conference was when she said that she would rather see a young person get COVID than take the risk of taking the AstraZeneca vaccine. I'd like her to tell that to the family of the Victoria man in his 20s who passed away from COVID last year. Politicians should not be politicizing this virus, we are on a knife's edge and there is a clear way out. We should not be looking a gift horse in the mouth!

-KangarooFlyer88

 

[jase05]

The QLD CHO is arguably the least qualified of all the CHO’s but seems to do things in a very different way to the rest of them... so I wonder why that is... and this leads to a lot of the head shaking you describe amongst the health professionals up here....

Anyway four more months of this nonsense and then hopefully someone more relevantly qualified and perhaps also compassionate will be appointed. Fingers crossed for us.

We’d happily have Chant or Sutton if they wanted a warmer climate Maybe Ie I’ll tweet them and offer the job

Well Cheng has finished up in Victoria

 

[Lynda2475]

If you choose hotbox you'll probably end up with some Thai food, not a vaccine

Bloody auto correct

 

[justinbrett]

Exactly - it all changed depending on what I picked. So I think I will continue with the CovidLive snapshot, which I have been using for my weekly vaccination stakes update for months, as it gives me a consistency

I'd argue first dose is much more important - better two have two citizens with one dose each than one with two doses. I don't get the obsession with total vaccination stat - yes, that's the goal, but very few countries are above 35% for two doses (and quite a lot are under 50% for first dose).

I think the stats will look very different in three months.

 

[Lynda2475]

That the federal government plans to set up mass vaccination hubs for AZ for under 40s

I saw the repeat about 1am, this one galled me, because the mass vax hubs are state run, she should know that.

Agree also that Leigh would have gone harder.

 

[Flying mermaid]

I'd argue first dose is much more important - better two have two citizens with one dose each than one with two doses. I don't get the obsession with total vaccination stat - yes, that's the goal, but very few countries are above 35% for two doses (and quite a lot are under 50% for first dose).

I think the stats will look very different in three months.

I think the one CovidLive uses is total jabs per 100,000, rather than looking at 1 jab or 2 jab stats. Where it is inaccurate is that disadvantages counties with large populations under 16. Anyway it’s just a bit of fun from my point of view - more interested in Australia going up the tables, which hasn’t happened in months - we bounce between 81st and 78th and with certain states trying to sabotage the rollout that’s not likely to change

 

[justinbrett]

I think the one CovidLive uses is total jabs per 100,000, rather than looking at 1 jab or 2 jab stats. Where it is inaccurate is that disadvantages counties with large populations under 16. Anyway it’s just a bit of fun from my point of view - more interested in Australia going up the tables, which hasn’t happened in months - we bounce between 81st and 78th and with certain states trying to sabotage the rollout that’s not likely to change

It also disadvantages countries that use a lot of AZ, due to the delay in the second shot.

What's more concerning is seeing countries plateau when they get a bit further on than us - that's a much harder problem to fix.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

It has just been officially reported that 2600 odd Australians under 40 have in the last 2 days have been vaccinated with AZ

 

[jakeseven7]

What was most disgusting about that press conference was when she said that she would rather see a young person get COVID than take the risk of taking the AstraZeneca vaccine. I'd like her to tell that to the family of the Victoria man in his 20s who passed away from COVID last year. Politicians should not be politicizing this virus, we are on a knife's edge and there is a clear way out. We should not be looking a gift horse in the mouth!

-KangarooFlyer88

Not to mention of course that person she would happily offer up to covid could pass it on to more people but anyway....

So on the news apparently 2600 people under 40 fronted up and got vaccinated with AZ yesterday which is 2600 more people than if this option was not available to them.