The COVID-19 vaccine rollout in Australia has begun

[mviy]

I think in VIC we are still doing second AZ dose after the recommended 12 weeks. Of course if the outbreak gets worse that could change.

When I had my first dose the nurse said that she’d be fine with bringing the second dose forward to 10 weeks.

Tomorrow I’ll be at the 5 week mark, so 7 weeks to go. It’s nice to know that I could have the second dose at any time if it becomes necessary.

I would like to see us hit 80% in early November, but that would be surprising. To push for hitting it in that timeframe we need to be providing carrots and sticks now.

 

[HappyFlyerFamily]

I think in VIC we are still doing second AZ dose after the recommended 12 weeks. Of course if the outbreak gets worse that could change.

When I had my first dose the nurse said that she’d be fine with bringing the second dose forward to 10 weeks.

Tomorrow I’ll be at the 5 week mark, so 7 weeks to go. It’s nice to know that I could have the second dose at any time if it becomes necessary.

I would like to see us hit 80% in early November, but that would be surprising. To push for hitting it in that timeframe we need to be providing carrots and sticks now.

Choosing when to have the second dose - "Do you feel lucky...." (3 weeks to take efect)

 

[Flying mermaid]

I think in VIC we are still doing second AZ dose after the recommended 12 weeks. Of course if the outbreak gets worse that could change.

When I had my first dose the nurse said that she’d be fine with bringing the second dose forward to 10 weeks.

Tomorrow I’ll be at the 5 week mark, so 7 weeks to go. It’s nice to know that I could have the second dose at any time if it becomes necessary.

I would like to see us hit 80% in early November, but that would be surprising. To push for hitting it in that timeframe we need to be providing carrots and sticks now.

Look I know early November is probably unachievable, but I feel a tiny bit more confident with all the Moderna coming in.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Well given this advice was given in Canberra where there hasn’t been an outbreak in 13 months, I really don’t blame the GP. I know an outbreak could happen here tomorrow, especially as pesky people from Sydney keep trying to travel here, but it wasn’t a bad call.

I think people are losing sight of the fact that we are getting masses of mRNA vaccine starting September and escalating in October. I totally support giving AZ in places like Sydney and Melbourne where there are bad (or potentially bad) outbreaks and in Sydney they have drastically cut the wait time between AZ shots. But if we took it to extremes and said everyone over the next two months got AZ and we reverted to 12 weeks between shots, we are looking at January to hit the fully vaccinated target. Whereas someone getting an mRNA shot in early October is fully vaccinated by the end of October.

Yes someone will be. But we need to vaccinate a huge number of people and they cannot all be done in October.

So to meet my extremely optimistic target of 80% fully vaccinated by early November, we need mRNA or to cut the gap between AZ shots. Lots of AZ and a 12 week gap is going to see it drag out…..I don’t know what Victoria is doing as a gap between AZ shots?

Pharmacists in the ACT will start vaccinating this week with AZ and while that’s great it will definitely slow down our fully vaccinated quest. You just have to look at our stats vs Tas and NT. They are using much more Pfizer (presumably for younger indigenous), so their fully vaccinated is ahead of ours even though first jabs are the same or better.

That more mRNA is coming in the last quarter is what has created so many fence sitters including in the referenced GPs. Sydney was content to wait and that has not gone well, though their vaccination rate is now zooming up.

The more AZ vaccinations in August the quicker the whole nation gets to a more complete vaccination level.

The lower the number, the longer it will take.

If we had not sabotaged the AZ rollout to date it would have been reached much quicker than it will take. And looking at the risk to only one person at a time is the main reason for this.

 

[mviy]

Choosing when to have the second dose - "Do you feel lucky...." (3 weeks to take efect)

If Dan didn't continually lockdown the whole state over one or two cases maybe I'd feel a greater risk of catching the virus, and with the rest of my household fully vaccinated if I did catch the virus it's not likely to hurt anyone else in the household. If things got bad I'd go to the GP and get the second dose early and bunker down at home until the full protection kicks in.

I still don't know of any of my large circle of friends in Melbourne catching the virus at any stage of the pandemic let alone getting hospitalised or worse.

Also the Feds refuse to provide the incentive of international travel which was the main reason to get vaccinated in the first place, to go and see Australian family overseas and new family I've never met in person. Considering the 2nd dose is due for me late September I'll have plenty of time for the protection to kick in before travel is permitted.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

I think in VIC we are still doing second AZ dose after the recommended 12 weeks. Of course if the outbreak gets worse that could change.

When I had my first dose the nurse said that she’d be fine with bringing the second dose forward to 10 weeks.

One of my sisters was going to fly up to the Gold Coast to visit her daughter, and had her second AZ dose early so that when she travelled that she would be more protected. The recent Vic/Qld Outbreaks stopped her trip though.

 

[Flying mermaid]

Yes someone will be. But we need to vaccinate a huge number of people and they cannot all be done in October.



That more mRNA is coming in the last quarter is what has created so many fence sitters including in the referenced GPs. Sydney was content to wait and that has not gone well, though their vaccination rate is now zooming up.

The more AZ vaccinations in August the quicker the whole nation gets to a more complete vaccination level.

The lower the number, the longer it will takes.

If we had not sabotaged the AZ rollout to date it would have been reached much quicker than it will take. And looking at the risk to only one person at a time is the main reason for this.

I have always promoted AZ and absolutely think it should be used now when delta is rampaging in certain states. However in October we get 2 million Pfizer a week plus 3 million Moderna - enough to fully vaccinate 5.5 million Australians or more than 25% of the 16+ population. I don’t think getting people vaccinated will be an issue. We will have the vaccine and the delivery mechanisms. The real issue is to keep people coming forward.

 

[mviy]

45-49 went past 30% fully vaccinated on yesterday's numbers released today.

Nationally we should reach some major milestones later this week like 25% of 16+ fully vaccinated, 70% of 50+ with first dose, 1/3 of 50+ fully vaccinated and 50% of 70+ fully vaccinated.

 

[HappyFlyerFamily]

Well overnight's announcement in respect of NSW construction (allowing workers from concerned LGA out with either 1 dose of vaccine of less than 3 week + testing or 1 dose vaccine of more than 3 weeks (and of course 2 dose)) combined with today's NSW Premier's comments gave the impression that there will be Sydney relaxations for beyond critical industries.

It seems NSW will be moving towards a hybrid US model vaccinate or unvaccinated need to test regularly, until it reaches 70/80%. Seems like NSW authorities will do this around 28 August when vaccination is notional 6 million doses which is roughly 46% of the eligible population (16+).

I think part of the assessment will be whether the construction 'experiment' works or not, but the writing is seemingly on the wall to allow non-critical workers back to work (on the basis of either 1-dose vaccinate more than 3 weeks, or 1-dose vaccinate less than 3 weeks with test), perhaps starting with LGAs not of concern. Not sure how this plays out for schools with many ineligible to be vaccinated, but more probably make students go back regardless because otherwise workers can't get back to work.

But once NSW opens up, you might see vaccine urgency start to slow down - perhaps not quickly, but it will start soon after.

 

[Flying mermaid]

Well overnight's announcement in respect of NSW construction (allowing workers from concerned LGA out with either 1 dose of vaccine of less than 3 week + testing or 1 dose vaccine of more than 3 weeks (and of course 2 dose)) combined with today's NSW Premier's comments gave the impression that there will be Sydney relaxations for beyond critical industries.

It seems NSW will be moving towards a hybrid US model vaccinate or unvaccinated need to test regularly, until it reaches 70/80%. Seems like NSW authorities will do this around 28 August when vaccination is notional 6 million doses which is roughly 46% of the eligible population (16+).

I think part of the assessment will be whether the construction 'experiment' works or not, but the writing is seemingly on the wall to allow non-critical workers back to work (on the basis of either 1-dose vaccinate more than 3 weeks, or 1-dose vaccinate less than 3 weeks with test), perhaps starting with LGAs not of concern. Not sure how this plays out for schools with many ineligible to be vaccinated, but more probably make students go back regardless because otherwise workers can't get back to work.

But once NSW opens up, you might see vaccine urgency start to slow down - perhaps not quickly, but it will start soon after.

It seemed pretty clear from what Gladys said in the presser today that this is the plan. They are likely to have 60%+ of the 16+ population with a first jab by end August and if you get more work privileges with a first jab than those unvaccinated I guess they are gambling the % of those with a first jab will increase rapidly.

I can’t see any states opening to NSW for months with that plan, but it’s going to be interesting to see what happens. Fingers crossed it works!

 

[HappyFlyerFamily]

It seemed pretty clear from what Gladys said in the presser today that this is the plan. They are likely to have 60%+ of the 16+ population with a first jab by end August and if you get more work privileges with a first jab than those unvaccinated I guess they are gambling the % of those with a first jab will increase rapidly.

I can’t see any states opening to NSW for months with that plan, but it’s going to be interesting to see what happens. Fingers crossed it works!

A worse thing is the terrible maths being exhibited.

According to the daily vaccination update NSW is 6.56m eligible 16+.

The NSW Premier keeps talking as if 10m is 80% (which it is not - its 10.5m)

So 6m is 60% of something less than 80%, which makes it not even 50%.

It will be interesting how things go, but my thinking is unfortunately 1000 cases per day is in sight. I don't know whether there is a number where the NSW Crisis Cabinet says the number is too high and to pull another handbrake like to stop either school again or non-critical industries.

 

[HappyFlyerFamily]

An article to rebut those saying getting Astra Zeneca is easy.

Aussies can’t even get appointments for AstraZeneca

Young people have voiced their frustration at not being able to get vaccination appointments despite being willing to get the AstraZeneca jab.

www.news.com.au

Hopefully today's Vic announced drive thru helps the situation

 

[jakeseven7]

The VIC CHO has massive swag with the younger generation so his strong words today re: AZ and the mass hubs were EXCELLENT. The response on TikTok is always huge to Brett.

EDIT : Proof was in the pudding, Brett sold out all his mass vax hubs for the whole month for AZ already - VIC looking to add more apparently to cope with demand.

Suddenly feeling more heartened! People just need to be led with clear and simple comms from someone they like and trust.

 

[Must...Fly!]

Which just makes you think how pathetic this whole thing has been about AZ. People are willing to make the informed decision and the government continually told them they couldn't.

It seems NSW will be moving towards a hybrid US model vaccinate or unvaccinated need to test regularly, until it reaches 70/80%. Seems like NSW authorities will do this around 28 August when vaccination is notional 6 million doses which is roughly 46% of the eligible population (16+).

Mark McGowan has been throwing shade and none of it has stuck thankfully. Seems like a pretty good idea if it allows more normality.

The WA government has finally admitted defeat and is doing what it said it would do 18 months ago and direct more funding in to the health system to shore up capacity. Where they will find the people to work in these hospitals is another story.

Ambulance ramping hours hit over 5,000 hours in WA recently. The current health minister when in opposition described ramping hours of ~1,000 as "a crisis". How long will all this capacity take to come on line? Don't mean to rant but it is pretty obvious WA is going to be very conservative with borders and a large part of it is due to inaction on the part of the government.

At least the people of WA are coming forward to be vaccinated, or so I am told!

‘More staff, beds, services’: State government injects billions into struggling health system

The additional investment will boost the government’s 2021-22 Budget commitments to the state’s pressured health system to about $4 billion.

www.watoday.com.au

 

[lovetravellingoz]

However in October we get 2 million Pfizer a week plus 3 million Moderna - enough to fully vaccinate 5.5 million Australians or more than 25% of the 16+ population. I don’t think getting people vaccinated will be an issue. We will have the vaccine and the delivery mechanisms. The real issue is to keep people coming forward.

I had missed the excellent news that was announced today by Greg Hunt that Moderna will arrive more quickly, plus confirming that Pfizer will increase up to 2 million per week.

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Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt expects the first million doses of the mRNA Moderna vaccine will arrive in Australia in September, subject to final approval by the Therapeutic Goods Administration.​

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That approval is expected within the next two weeks but early signs are that is it is highly effective, he says.​

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Once approved, supplies are expected to increase to three million a month through October, November and December.​

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This comes on top of the effective doubling of Pfizer vaccines to two million a week.​

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and​

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The federal health minister, Greg Hunt, told the ABC the government’s “expectation” was the first million doses of the Moderna vaccine would be available in the middle of September, assuming approval from the Therapeutic Goods Administration.​

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The number of all vaccine doses available in Australia is scheduled to peak in November, with almost 19m doses on offer that month, comprising 10m Pfizer, 5m AstraZeneca and 4m Moderna​

 

[lovetravellingoz]

And pharmacists are now doing Covid Vaccinations in Victoria as well. You can book online now through different chains.

ie

https://www.priceline.com.au/pharmac_-services/vaccines/covid-19-vaccination

TerryWhite Chemmart

TerryWhite Chemmart

terrywhitechemmart.com.au

 

[Oneworldplus2]

Tomorrow I’ll be at the 5 week mark, so 7 weeks to go

Go straight to Pfizer or Moderna (2 weeks time), why wait 7 weeks?

Mix and match seems to have worked in other countries. Has our Government advised this? I haven't heard about it.

Using a different vaccine for the second dose​

Another such adaptation is that experts responsible for the vaccination programmes in over half of Member States have decided, with a view to their national situations, to use different vaccines for the second dose from the ones used for the first dose. For example, in some countries people may be offered a second dose of an mRNA vaccine such as Comirnaty or Spikevax after a first dose of the adenoviral vector vaccine, Vaxzevria.

A heterologous vaccination strategy (sometimes referred to as ‘mix and match’), in which a different vaccine is given for the second dose in a recommended 2-dose schedule, has historically been applied for some other vaccines.3 There are good scientific grounds to expect this strategy to be safe and effective when applied to vaccination against COVID-19. The use of a heterologous vaccination strategy may allow populations to be protected more quickly and make better use of available vaccine supplies.

Currently, EMA and ECDC are not in a position to make any definitive recommendations on use of different COVID-19 vaccines for the two doses. Nonetheless, preliminary results from studies in Spain,4 Germany5, 6 and the UK7 suggest a satisfactory immune response and no safety concerns. More data are awaited shortly, and EMA will continue to review these as they become available.

EMA and ECDC update on COVID-19 - European Medicines Agency​

Canada allows AstraZeneca vaccine recipients to get Pfizer or Moderna jab for second dose​

Canada's National Advisory Committee on Immunization says people who received the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine for the first dose can be offered either the Pfizer or Moderna jab for the second.
The advice affects more than 2 million Canadians who received the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine before provinces stopped using it for first doses last month.

Several European countries are giving Pfizer or Moderna as second doses to AstraZeneca recipients, including Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Sweden, Norway and Spain.

NACI's published report says AstraZeneca recipients can be offered the same vaccine if they want it or can be given either Pfizer or Moderna doses.

Canada approves mixing and matching of COVID-19 vaccines

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Canada was an outlier on mixing COVID-19 vaccines, but more countries now following suit
Bahrain, Bhutan, Indonesia, Italy, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, Uruguay and Vietnam are among those now exploring or actively pursuing mixed-dosing strategies.

It's a move increasingly backed by new research, though it's rooted in decades of vaccine science, according to Rasmussen and other vaccine experts.

"Combining vaccines is nothing new," she said. "There's no reason to expect that it wouldn't be safe."

"It is already accepted around the world for other vaccines," she said. "Do you ask what flu vaccine you get every year? They're made by different manufacturers."

For some countries, including Italy and Vietnam, the goal is to provide people who were first immunized with the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine with a second dose of an mRNA product, such as Pfizer-BioNTech.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/mixing-vaccines-canada-1.6123155​

Mix-and-match COVID vaccines: the case is growing, but questions remain​

A slew of studies suggests that mixing vaccines provokes potent immune responses, but scientists still want answers on real-world efficacy and rare side effects.

Mixing COVID-19 vaccines is emerging as a good way to get people the protection they need when faced with safety concerns and unpredictable supplies. Most vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 must be given in two doses, but multiple studies now back up the idea that mixing the Oxford–AstraZeneca jab and the Pfizer–BioNTech vaccine triggers an immune response similar to — or even stronger than — two doses of either vaccine.

Results announced on Monday 1 by a UK group suggest that the combination sometimes outperforms two shots of the same vaccine, and a similar picture is emerging from German studies2,3.
People can now “feel a bit more comfortable” with the idea of mix-and-match, says immunologist Leif Erik Sander at Charité University Hospital in Berlin.

The results are also giving researchers confidence that combining other COVID-19 vaccines, that haven’t yet been tested together, might also work. But at least 16 vaccines have been approved for use in one or more countries, and mix-and-match studies so far have been small, so more extensive trials and long-term monitoring for side effects are sorely needed.

Mix-and-match COVID vaccines: the case is growing, but questions remain​

 

[Pushka]

Go straight to Pfizer or Moderna (2 weeks time), why wait 7 weeks?

Mix and match seems to have worked in other countries. Has our Government advised this? I haven't heard about it.

EMA and ECDC update on COVID-19 - European Medicines Agency



Canada approves mixing and matching of COVID-19 vaccines



https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/mixing-vaccines-canada-1.6123155


Mix-and-match COVID vaccines: the case is growing, but questions remain​

Don't mix and match just yet. Some countries may not regard that as being fully immunised. And the certificate in Australia may not cope with a mix and be unable to produce the correct documentation.

 

[jakeseven7]

Go straight to Pfizer or Moderna (2 weeks time), why wait 7 weeks?

The best jab is the one you can get today, right now to afford someone (and their loved ones) some level of protection. If people wait, what if something happens… it’s clear Delta is spreading everywhere it’s only a matter of time before it well and truly cracks the states outside of NSW. Personally I wouldn’t be waiting.

 

[Pushka]

The best jab is the one you can get today, right now to afford someone (and their loved ones) some level of protection. If people wait, what if something happens… it’s clear Delta is spreading everywhere it’s only a matter of time before it well and truly cracks the states outside of NSW. Personally I wouldn’t be waiting.

He was referring to mviy who is between AZ shots. And suggesting he mix them.