The COVID-19 vaccine rollout in Australia has begun

[Lynda2475]

So I will take from that that you actually have no source for your claim that GPs were wasting 1 in 4 doses, as otherwise you would have posted it by now.

I really dont care what you take from anything. You would find a reason to discard any proof offered as if your way.

Despite the fact you think you are the Covid authority at AFF, you are not. You just spend all day googling for evidence to support your views. It may surprise you that other people can make up their own minds and don't need a quote posted by you to assess what vaccine they should take because you think AZ is "good enough" or what is convenient for them.

You cant disprove that GPs are wasting close to 25% of their AZ doses. GPs have been delivering AZ for months before state hubs came into existence, yet their utilization has not improved over time.

Hopefully the feds will start reporting the dose information by vaccine type, so the wastage will be more visible.

You are not a younger person and you haven't conducted any research into where they want to be vaccinated.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

You conveniently ignore where I said now is not the time because "We dont yet have supply to be expanding Pfizer into GPs and Pharmacies". Redirecting supplies from already under supplied hubs in metro areas so you can add small GP practices in metro areas as a channel isn't going to boost roll-out now because we only have the same number of doses, in fact it is going to make it harder for some people to book at hubs.

Fortunately Lieutenant General Frewen is not just concerned about the now, he is focused on the whole vaccination program.



I ignored your point as it an irrelevant point. It is only you that sees Hubs as the only location that Pfizer should be given at.

If a dose gets into an arm, it matters not now whether that person got their vaccination at a Hub, GP or even pharmac_. It only matter that they get vaccinated.

If one say has 100,000 doses of Pfizer in a week now, it matter little whether it is injected as:

• 80,000 Hubs, 20,000 GP Channel or
• 50,000 Hubs and 50,000 GP Channel

However if Pfizer was only at the Hubs you would end up with unfair access as hubs are simply not convenient for all, and in the near future it will matter a great deal if the capability to deliver Pfizer throughout Australia has not been increased.




What ramping up Pfizer through the GP Channel now does achieve though is when Pfizer supply increases that we will have the overall capability to deliver 2million + doses of Pfizer per week.

The GP Channel has delivered more vaccinations that any other channel (more than half of the total) and so as AZ begins to drop off it would non-sensical to not continue to use this already operating capacity.

 

[Lynda2475]

I ignored your point as it an irrelevant point.

In your opinion. You do not speak for me or what I think. You selectively quote posts out of context.

If we have 100k doses and the mass vacs hubs can deliver them all in say 5 days, verses sending 50k to GPs who take 10 days or more to deliver the same number of doses, we are absolutely disadvantaging Australia now by slowing the roll-out.

Any good project manager knows you don't ramp up until you have supply to support that ramp up.

 

[Oneworldplus2]

I noticed on my QLD vaccination card that Novavax is listed. Any idea on when this will be available? A few people I've spoken to are waiting for it (preferred vaccine).

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Any good project manager knows you don't ramp up until you have supply to support that ramp up.

I have worked in delivering infrastructure for 4 decades and I can guarantee that if you have a delivery date in mind that you need to have built, commissioned and tested that infrastructure before that date. When you have a vast number of sites you also will implement that progressively, and not say look to have them all start on say 1st October..

The current supply timeline is reasonably known (subject fluctuation hat may occur) and Lieutenant General Frewen is charged with coordinating (the cats he has to herd) so that we as a nation have all the infrastructure in place come October so that we can efficiently utilise that ramped up demand.

And it is not just the GP Channel vaccination sites, but the logistics of getter Pfizer out far and wide that Frewen is overseeing and has to greatly expand. That needs to be progressively ramped up.

So the logistic firms will be gearing up for this. The GP Practices and RCs will be being fitted out with the required cold chain requirements etc Staff will be getting trained on what is required. All of these things take time. Also someone will be validating each site, and they cannot do that all at once either.

 

[Pushka]

An expectation that Pfizer won’t be available to under 40s till at least September means that I should be fully vaccinated sooner or around the same time as I would have been with Pfizer.

I know people over 70 who are waiting for Pfizer. I’m still not convinced they won‘t open Pfizer up to that cohort next.

And they shouldn’t on principle but in terms of pandemic control maybe they should. Move to rural SA where under 40’s can get Pfizer now.

 

[Oneworldplus2]

They've had a year (or more) to prepare and plan. This didn't happen yesterday.

QLD premier is still debating weather or not to build two quarantine facilities. Still....

 

[mviy]

And they shouldn’t on principle but in terms of pandemic control maybe they should. Move to rural SA where under 40’s can get Pfizer now.

For work and other reasons moving to SA isn't an option for me and considering that Pfizer complications are most likely in younger men I'm fine with my choice for AZ. I'll get a mRNA booster next year presumably anyway.

 

[Lynda2475]

They will not open Pfizer to 70s and over before 30-39s, there are more voters in the younger cohort. They may however move to 5 year age brackets, so see 35-39s before 30-34s due to slow supply.

However, unlikely to add any more age groups until supply increases as bulk of 40-49s are still waiting for Pfizer, although a great number have already booked and even more are currently waitlisted.

 

[Lynda2475]

you need to have built, commissioned and tested that infrastructure before that date

Well then you would know that testing is not done with real cargo, just as testing of IT systems is done with simulated/ deidentified data.

Real vaccine didn't need to be redirected now. You test processes, then conduct a pilot in the staged roll-out closer to the time you can actually launch.

Again you have made an assumption that al would go live together at start of October. Soemthing never said.

Supply to state could have been kept at June levels (so not disadvantaging those on hub waiting lists) with a fewer number of GPs being onboarded (in areas with RC or Hubs i.e. outside of mero only). Yet there are GPS in lower north shore giving Pfizer this week when there is a hub 1km down the road a RNH.

being fitted out with the required cold chain requirements

Except this isn't happening. All the GPs are not getting units that can store the vaccine at -70, they will be using existing refrigeration equipment meaning vaccine will thaw and have a shorter shelf life than those where they can keep it frozen. This is what makes wastage more likely if they don't have sufficient customers on standby to use it all.

 

[jase05]

Except this isn't happening. All the GPs are not getting units that can store the vaccine at -70, they will be using existing refrigeration equipment meaning vaccine will thaw and have a shorter shelf life than those where they can keep it frozen. This is what makes wastage more likely if they don't have sufficient customers on standby to use it all.

Unopened Pfizer can be stored at -25 to -15 for 2 weeks which is well within the range of domestic freezers.

 

[HappyFlyerFamily]

And they shouldn’t on principle but in terms of pandemic control maybe they should. Move to rural SA where under 40’s can get Pfizer now.

If you wanted demand up and for pandemic control purposes, just open both up to everyone now (or the latest when Australia is apparently swimming in Pfizer - said to be October) - free choice. It seems most people's principle went out the window in January 2020.

 

[Lynda2475]

Unopened Pfizer can be stored at -25 to -15 for 2 weeks which is well within the range of domestic freezers.

And falls to 5 days if goes above -15, many GPs only have fridges that sit about 4C.

Plus once opened it is only good for 6hrs, so need to ensure before opening any vial there are 6 people available to receive a dose or have to bin the leftovers. Much easier to find 5 extra eligible people at a mass vax center with a huge wait list than a small GP practice.

 

[jase05]

And falls to 5 days if goes above -15, many GPs only have fridges that sit about 4C.

Plus once opened it is only good for 6hrs, so need to ensure before opening any vial there are 6 people available to receive a dose or have to bin the leftovers. Much easier to find 5 extra eligible people at a mass vax center with a huge wait list than a small GP practice.

I have been involved in vaccine logistics for years and I don’t know a single GP that doesn’t have a freezer capable of that range.

 

[HappyFlyerFamily]

More queue jumping, perhaps???

Year 12 students at St Joseph’s College given Pfizer vaccination

While older Australians wait for their jabs, NSW Health arranged for Pfizer jabs for 160 year 12 students at St Joseph’s College in Hunters Hill.

www.smh.com.au

NSW Health allowed about 160 year 12 students at St Joseph’s College at Hunters Hill to be inoculated against COVID-19 with the Pfizer vaccine, even though the program has only officially been rolled out to people aged 40 and above.

Multiple sources familiar with the situation told the Herald that HSC students at the high-fee independent high school were bussed to a vaccination centre at the end of last term for their first shot, and are due to have their second shot when school resumes.

In response to a query from the Herald, the college’s principal Ross Tarlinton said the school approached the Sydney Local Health District in May to inquire about the possibility of vaccinations for students given many were boarders from remote, regional and Indigenous communities.

Yes, I clicked on the article, but does anyone care?

 

[mviy]

I have been involved in vaccine logistics for years and I don’t know a single GP that doesn’t have a freezer capable of that range.

Presumably if they didn't have one already they could be seeking to source one to make them more attractive for taking part in the Pfizer rollout anyway.

Do they have backup generators in case of power outages?

 

[Flying mermaid]

Weekly running total over 900,000 for the first time.

 

[jase05]

McClown really is a goose

‘Sneaky Pfizer jabs’ handed out in WA in booking free-for-all while rest of nation cries poor

WA has binned almost 4000 vaccines while boasting about its “orderly allocation” system over other states as local Pfizer-seekers set about circumnavigating booking systems.

www.watoday.com.au

 

[JB expat]

This is infuriating. I think teachers should have been prioritized with 1B's - I'm a 1B and would have been fine with teachers being ahead of 1B. To give Pfizer's to these students (and not teachers) is outrageous - if it really was to protect "at risk communities", I think they could have found a more "at risk" group outside of a very expensive private school. Or they could have prioritized boarders who go home to remote locations during long breaks. Anything other than what they did would have been better.

Year 12 students at St Joseph’s College given Pfizer vaccination

While older Australians wait for their jabs, NSW Health arranged for Pfizer jabs for 160 year 12 students at St Joseph’s College in Hunters Hill.

www.theage.com.au

 

[Pushka]

This is infuriating. I think teachers should have been prioritized with 1B's - I'm a 1B and would have been fine with teachers being ahead of 1B. To give Pfizer's to these students (and not teachers) is outrageous - if it really was to protect "at risk communities", I think they could have found a more "at risk" group outside of a very expensive private school. Or they could have prioritized boarders who go home to remote locations during long breaks. Anything other than what they did would have been better.

Year 12 students at St Joseph’s College given Pfizer vaccination

While older Australians wait for their jabs, NSW Health arranged for Pfizer jabs for 160 year 12 students at St Joseph’s College in Hunters Hill.

www.theage.com.au

Well, there has to be a reason why this school was prioritised and not others. Its a State decision. It does mention indigenous students which flags a risk if they return to remote communities for breaks.

People 16 years and over living in country SA (which is very close to the CBD - 60 kms out?) can get Pfizer and have had access for a few weeks now. Is it possible it was only boarders who got this?