The COVID-19 vaccine rollout in Australia has begun

[lovetravellingoz]

Yes, but what's the point you're trying to make?

Improving access assists in maximising vaccinations.

 

[justinbrett]

Improving access assists in maximising vaccinations.

So you're saying Victoria should open more places for GPs and pharmacies?

 

[mviy]

My understanding is that the existing national plan is to have Moderna go to pharmacies and to increase Pfizer availability at GPs and mass vaccination hubs as supply improves.

 

[Must...Fly!]

So you're saying Victoria should open more places for GPs and pharmacies?

I think just more vaccines generally would be a good thing, and who gives a hoot where they go as long as they can be accessed.

There are two groups in this country worrying about utilisation data, they are bureaucrats in Canberra and about three people in this thread...

 

[justinbrett]

My understanding is that the existing national plan is to have Moderna go to pharmacies and to increase Pfizer availability at GPs and mass vaccination hubs as supply improves.

Moderna will be interesting in NSW - by the time it comes online we will have vaccinated 80%. It might be that NSW only uses Pfizer for 2nd jabs - with under 16s and any late comers for 16+ getting Moderna.

I think just more vaccines generally would be a good thing, and who gives a hoot where they go as long as they can be accessed.

There are two groups in this country worrying about utilisation data, they are bureaucrats in Canberra and about three people in this thread...

Yep, the only stat I care about is total 1st and 2nd jabs, I couldn't care less which vaccine it is and who jabbed it. (although I do like to see high AZ usage because it's kind of like bonus vaccines)

 

[mviy]

I too want us to get to the vaccine targets as soon as possible with whichever vaccine mix achieves that. Obviously both AZ and Pfizer have played their part in getting us to where we are today.

 

[Must...Fly!]

Dunno if I'd be so gung-ho on Moderna turning up. Not in the quantities ordered anyway. Nothing is guaranteed.

Moderna vaccines in August cut short due to supply glitch

Korea got less than 5 percent of the needed Moderna vaccines for August vaccinations, after glitches in the Moderna supply in Europe has had a cascading effect on the schedule of vaccine supplies in Korea. The glitch goes back to Julyâ¦

koreajoongangdaily.joins.com

 

[Lynda2475]

Why would you line up for an hour at a hub

LoL you have an appointment at the hub, you dont line up for an hour (unless you arrive early). Wait time for my first jab at Olympic Park was 25mins only because i was 20mins early. Second dose I was also early but waived straight in i.e. no wait.

 

[jase05]

Sutton has been constant in regards to AZ, pity not all of the CHO’s are on the same page


There were promising signs, Professor Sutton added, that while access to the Pfizer vaccine was increasing in Victoria, the AstraZeneca vaccine was proving more effective than had previously been understood.

“There are signs that the immunity that you get from AstraZeneca might even be more long-lasting than Pfizer, and that it will outperform Pfizer six months after getting vaccinated,” he said.

 

[justinbrett]

LoL you have an appointment at the hub, you dont line up for an hour (unless you arrive early). Wait time for my first jab at Olympic Park was 25mins only because i was 20mins early. Second dose I was also early but waived straight in i.e. no wait.

I think that's true for the morning, I made the mistake of making mine late in the day and had to wait an hour. Talking to others it seems like this is normal.

It could be Belmont specific. They don't seem to stop people going in early, they only check the date.

I waited just over an hour for my first Pfizer dose, appointment was at 3pm. I thought it was really well run as soon as you got inside.

 

[jakeseven7]

Sutton has been constant in regards to AZ, pity not all of the CHO’s are on the same page


There were promising signs, Professor Sutton added, that while access to the Pfizer vaccine was increasing in Victoria, the AstraZeneca vaccine was proving more effective than had previously been understood.

“There are signs that the immunity that you get from AstraZeneca might even be more long-lasting than Pfizer, and that it will outperform Pfizer six months after getting vaccinated,” he said.

Yes the better performance of AZ is now being replicated across several large studies.

 

[jakeseven7]

Better late than never, VA2 has followed Qantas and mandated vaccines for all its staff.

So Rexy will be forced to follow or they can have Craig Kelly, Pauline Hanson and Pete Evans as their brand ambassadors.

JH also supporting AJ push for international flights to open for Christmas.

——

Virgin Australia makes COVID-19 vaccinations mandatory, calls for international flights to resume by Christmas​

Virgin chief executive Jayne Hrdlicka says international flights could resume by Christmas and she is optimistic Australians will achieve desired vaccination rates to enable lockdowns to end and state borders to reopen

Virgin Australia has announced it is introducing mandatory vaccinations for all of its 6,000 employees.

The airline is aiming to have all frontline staff vaccinated by November 15, and all office-based workers by March 31. It also wants all its suppliers, including catering staff, fully vaccinated.

Ms Hrdlicka had previously come under fire for arguing that Australians must realise that COVID-19 cannot be kept out of the country forever and that "some people may die" as a result of reopening.

'I'm not sure what are we waiting for': Virgin CEO calls for international flights to resume by Christmas

Virgin chief executive Jayne Hrdlicka says international flights could resume by Christmas and she is optimistic Australians will achieve desired vaccination rates to enable lockdowns to end, and state borders to reopen.

www.abc.net.au

 

[lovetravellingoz]

So you're saying Victoria should open more places for GPs and pharmacies?

Yes there should be more "open" as you call it.

However it is purely the Commonwealth Government that approves GPs and Pharmacists to "open" as a vaccination facility, and what vaccines they can use, and the quantity that they get allocated.

So Victoria cannot " open more places for GPs and pharmacies". The Feds can.

 

[justinbrett]

Yes there should be more "open" as you call it.

However it is purely the Commonwealth Government that approves GPs and Pharmacists to "open" as a vaccination facility, and what vaccines they can use, and the quantity that they get allocated.

So Victoria cannot " open more places for GPs and pharmacies". The Feds can.

My understanding is that it was an application process, those GPs and pharmacies apply to join the federal scheme. The government doesn't just randomly call them.

There's no shortage of AZ so I can't see why the federal government wouldn't approve anyone who applied. Pfizer is a different story as VIC is probably has enough distribution channels for that.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

I too want us to get to the vaccine targets as soon as possible with whichever vaccine mix achieves that. Obviously both AZ and Pfizer have played their part in getting us to where we are today.

Yes if we want the whole country to open up then we need all jurisdictions to get to 80% fully vaxxed as soon as possible.

This then allows free interstate travel, and international travel to resume. Businesses dependant on people movement and mixing then get to all thrive again. Airlines, tourism and the like. Even hospitality which can go ok with a border closure if you have no cases, will go better if full tourism returns.

The airlines also do not just want tourism back, they want full business travel back too.

It does not work for Qantas if one state is at 80% as no one else is, as interstate traffic will be greatly reduced, and also international travel will not really be viable either.

International flights to and from Australia will also be more viable when there is demand from both within, and from outside of Australia. Tourists to come to Australia will want to travel freely around Australia. Not just one state.

Even international students will be apprehensive if we are as a nation not 80% fully vaxxed.

Businesses need to confidence that they can get on with things on a national basis.

So what ScoMo really needs to focus on now is how does he gets all jurisdictions up to 80% fully vaxxed at preferably at around about the same time as that will deliver the greatest economic, social and health benefits. Obviously it will not occur all at the same time, but maximum value will not be derived until each jurisdiction is at 80% or more fully vaxxed.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

My understanding is that it was an application process, those GPs and pharmacies apply to join the federal scheme. The government doesn't just randomly call them.

There are GPs and Pharmacists who have either been knocked back to date, or in the case of the chains (many of them national and so there is no reason why the Feds should knock them back as they have more stores vaccinating in other states) not permitted to have more stores participate. Some are also restricted in terms of doses.

Pharmacies were also only recently added in Victoria.

The Western and Northern Suburbs of Melbourne (which is where the bulk of current cases live) is under represented in approved GP's and Pharmacies. To improve supply to one GP Clinic in that region the State Government has agreed to divert some supply to them to demonstrate in a trial that that clinic at the Western Oval can service the needs of the local ethnic community there. The clinic is a collaboration of a number of different practices who service local ethnic communities.

These are also the same locations where vaccinations rates are lowest in Victoria. Though this is part due to the average age being lower in those regions.

Mid Sept is not far away now, and so they need to get a wriggle on as Moderna starts to arrive then and needs to be deployed.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Pfizer is a different story as VIC is probably has enough distribution channels for that.

Pfizer is about to ramp up in supply September, and then more again Oct.

So while the state hubs yes do have more capacity, they do not have enough. Plus to get more people vaccinated you want good coverage everywhere throughout the state, and not just at hubs.

For the 16/17 year olds GPs are much more convenient for many parents to access.

With many local ethnic communities you will also most likely get much better uptake if they can use their own local doctors and pharmacists.

 

[Batterytraveller]

Dunno if I'd be so gung-ho on Moderna turning up. Not in the quantities ordered anyway. Nothing is guaranteed.

Moderna vaccines in August cut short due to supply glitch

Korea got less than 5 percent of the needed Moderna vaccines for August vaccinations, after glitches in the Moderna supply in Europe has had a cascading effect on the schedule of vaccine supplies in Korea. The glitch goes back to Julyâ¦

koreajoongangdaily.joins.com

This definitely unfolding, two people have died after receiving contaminated Moderna in Japan. 1.63 million doses have been recalled in Japan, although 500,000 of those doses have already been administered. There is one packaging plant in spain that packages all Moderna for use outside the US.

2 men die in Japan after receiving dose of suspended Moderna vaccines - The Mainichi

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Two men died after each was administered a dose of Moderna Inc.'s COVID-19 vaccine that was among lots later suspended from use follo

mainichi.jp

There also appears to be a separate issues with the stoppers in the vials from the same plant.

Rubber stopper debris cause of contaminated vaccines found in Okinawa: health ministry - The Mainichi

TOKYO -- An investigation of foreign substances discovered in Moderna Inc.'s COVID-19 vaccines that were scheduled to be used in Japan's southernmost

mainichi.jp

I'm not sure if this is a major issue or not but supply could be constrained whilst this is fixed. (so don't hang out waiting for Moderna when there's plenty of good AZ sloshing around)

 

[ketsuzei]

two people have died after receiving contaminated Moderna in Japan

Thought this might be a mistranslation, but it’s just a mischaracterization of the article. Not shown to be contaminated as of now.

 

[OATEK]

My understanding is that it was an application process, those GPs and pharmacies apply to join the federal scheme. The government doesn't just randomly call them.

There's no shortage of AZ so I can't see why the federal government wouldn't approve anyone who applied. Pfizer is a different story as VIC is probably has enough distribution channels for that.

There are GPs and Pharmacists who have either been knocked back to date, or in the case of the chains (many of them national and so there is no reason why the Feds should knock them back as they have more stores vaccinating in other states) not permitted to have more stores participate. Some are also restricted in terms of doses.

Pharmacies were also only recently added in Victoria.

The Western and Northern Suburbs of Melbourne (which is where the bulk of current cases live) is under represented in approved GP's and Pharmacies. To improve supply to one GP Clinic in that region the State Government has agreed to divert some supply to them to demonstrate in a trial that that clinic at the Western Oval can service the needs of the local ethnic community there. The clinic is a collaboration of a number of different practices who service local ethnic communities.

These are also the same locations where vaccinations rates are lowest in Victoria. Though this is part due to the average age being lower in those regions.

Mid Sept is not far away now, and so they need to get a wriggle on as Moderna starts to arrive then and needs to be deployed.

Yes GPs have to apply, and if you speak to one who has been through the process as I have it is not just a matter of providing your name and address. Just like building new quarantine facilities, they must demonstrate they can meet the standards.