The COVID-19 vaccine rollout in Australia has begun

[Lynda2475]

The most at risk under 50s are in 1A those that work with international arrivals - HQ workers (drivers, cleaners, security guards), hospital staff on Covid wards that treat them etc. Lots of the under 50s in 1B whilst front line workers (like police officers, fire fighters, hospital admin) are very unlikely to be exposed to Covid given it is not out in the community, hence not the "most at risk" at this time.

I know a ICU nurse currently treating a covid +ve patient (so 1A) who is still waiting on her second Pfizer shot (been given a September appointment) because 1B started and took up all the earlier appointments, and the system isnt spamrt enough to bump 1B in favour of 1A people.

There is no defending that there are still those who work directly with covid positives in 1A waiting on a vaccine - these should have all been finsihed within first 6 weeks as all were supposed to get Pfizer, before starting 1B. BUT given they havent finished 1A, anyone in 1A (or 1B) who is over 50 and hasn't started their Pfizer course, should be switched over to AZ.

 

[Lynda2475]

And just in from ABC:

Second case of blood clots linked to AstraZeneca in Australia​

The national medical regulator has concluded a recently reported case of blood clots is likely linked to the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.

It’s the second Australian report of a case of “thrombosis with thrombocytopenia” following the shot.

The case occurred in a woman in her 40s who was vaccinated in Western Australia.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration says she remains in hospital receiving treatment and is in a stable condition.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

That raises a good question... is there an effective treatment for this particular type of clot? Do blood thinners work for example? or is there a reason why people seem to die from it?

 

[Lynda2475]

No Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine for Australia as sector calls for compensation scheme

Australia will not buy the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine because it is a similar type to the AstraZeneca one being manufactured locally.

www.smh.com.au

Whilst J&J has advantage of being a single shot, given it is having the same issues as AZ wrt blood clots, Im glad we are not investing in another vaccine of the same kind.

Novovax trial seems promising, but I suspect there will be some hesitancy once approved unless some other comparable western country starts using it at volume first, people wont want Australia to be the guinea pigs for mass usage given the low covid risk.

We need to get some moderna and more pfizer and start producing one of these mrna types on shore so that we can get ready supply of the variant boosters.

 

[jakeseven7]

And just in from ABC:

Second case of blood clots linked to AstraZeneca in Australia​

The national medical regulator has concluded a recently reported case of blood clots is likely linked to the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.

It’s the second Australian report of a case of “thrombosis with thrombocytopenia” following the shot.

The case occurred in a woman in her 40s who was vaccinated in Western Australia.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration says she remains in hospital receiving treatment and is in a stable condition.

Australia is actually trending far below the incidence rate of clots which is amazingly good news!

 

[Gremlin]

No the feds supply the vaccines to the states who then supply it to the aged care facility for the fed provider to use.

Just spoke to my contacts at Qld Health, NSW Health and SA. None of them agreed with this. In fact, two out of three laughed at the idea. Did mention that some state facilities are being used by feds to provide cold chain storage for particular locations, and that some of the providers and aged care facilities are calling them to get updates on delivery, but the end-to-end ownership is solely feds.

 

[Must...Fly!]

Australia is actually trending far below the incidence rate of clots which is amazingly good news!

The comparison to other countries is getting extremely annoying. Particularly when media are comparing us to countries who are being supplied with vastly inferior Chinese vaccines. Completely irrelevant.

 

[auriga]

Novovax trial seems promising, but I suspect there will be some hesitancy once approved unless some other comparable western country starts using it at volume first, people wont want Australia to be the guinea pigs for mass usage given the low covid risk.
\

Totally agree.
Cannot see Novavax being the answer here.

 

[jakeseven7]

The comparison to other countries is getting extremely annoying. Particularly when media are comparing us to countries who are being supplied with vastly inferior Chinese vaccines. Completely irrelevant.

Must be our amazingly fresh air or something that is making the incident rate so low in Australia, isn't that incredible! Don't hear that story in the rabid media

 

[drron]

Just spoke to my contacts at Qld Health, NSW Health and SA. None of them agreed with this. In fact, two out of three laughed at the idea. Did mention that some state facilities are being used by feds to provide cold chain storage for particular locations, and that some of the providers and aged care facilities are calling them to get updates on delivery, but the end-to-end ownership is solely feds.

So we are both right as she has been giving the Pfizer vaccine only so the delivery is from the States.

 

[Oneworldplus2]

Joint CDC and FDA Statement on Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 Vaccine​

​

The following statement is attributed to Dr. Anne Schuchat, Principal Deputy Director of the CDC and Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research​

​

As of April 12, more than 6.8 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson (Janssen ) vaccine have been administered in the U.S. CDC and FDA are reviewing data involving six reported U.S. cases of a rare and severe type of blood clot in individuals after receiving the J&J vaccine. In these cases, a type of blood clot called cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) was seen in combination with low levels of blood platelets (thrombocytopenia). All six cases occurred among women between the ages of 18 and 48, and symptoms occurred 6 to 13 days after vaccination. Treatment of this specific type of blood clot is different from the treatment that might typically be administered. Usually, an anticoagulant drug called heparin is used to treat blood clots. In this setting, administration of heparin may be dangerous, and alternative treatments need to be given.​

​

CDC will convene a meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) on Wednesday to further review these cases and assess their potential significance. FDA will review that analysis as it also investigates these cases. Until that process is complete, we are recommending a pause in the use of this vaccine out of an abundance of caution. This is important, in part, to ensure that the health care provider community is aware of the potential for these adverse events and can plan for proper recognition and management due to the unique treatment required with this type of blood clot.​

​

Right now, these adverse events appear to be extremely rare. COVID-19 vaccine safety is a top priority for the federal government, and we take all reports of health problems following COVID-19 vaccination very seriously. People who have received the J&J vaccine who develop severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain, or shortness of breath within three weeks after vaccination should contact their health care provider. Health care providers are asked to report adverse events to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System at https://vaers.hhs.gov/reportevent.htmlexternal icon.​

​

CDC and FDA will provide additional information and answer questions later today at a media briefing. A recording of that media call will be available on the FDA’s YouTube channel.​

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Coronavirus Disease 2019​

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​

 

[OATEK]

There really isnt any excuse for anyone in 1a to still be waiting (for their first shot if AZ was given or their second shot if Pfizer was given), we have more than enough doses to cover these individuals.

Im glad my folks in 1B have had their first shot, but really feel 1B should not have started until 1A was 99% complete.

Given our limitations on supply of mRNA vaccines, time to withhold Pfizer from anyone in 1A or 1B over 50 unless they are working face to face with International Covid arrivals, and move them onto AZ, so we can leverage the Pfizer for the most at risk under 50s.

I wonder if they have thought of that? Perhaps you could drop them a line.

Being a (just) over 70, I will be lining up for AZ as soons as a shot becomes available locally. I do worry about my daughter in UK who just turned 40, but they seem to think her shot might be Moderna.

 

[Flying mermaid]

According to the presser yesterday they are continuing to use Pfizer in aged care as it only takes 3 weeks to make someone fully vaccinated. These are the people most at risk of dying, not the under 50s and they want them fully vaccinated as quickly as possible.

 

[Pushka]

South Australia's excuse for having the lowest percentage of usage of supplied vaccines? We received too many! Of course we still have GP's desperate for more vaccines than the 50 a week they are getting. SA Govt's reasoning? We don't want to swamp them with vaccines so they can't do their core GP business. Honestly, you can't dream this stuff up.

Of course some here will say people aren't dying on the street. Well, that's not cutting it anymore.

SA Health Ministers response yesterday as to why 15% of quarantine workers refusing to be vaccinated? Well, the vaccination doesn't stop people spreading the virus so it's of no greater risk than if they were! So, says healthy young Joe Blow, "I'm personally not at risk of getting covid, let alone a poor prognosis, so I'm not getting the jab.".

Please can the Governments get their messaging sorted?

 

[Lynda2475]

According to the presser yesterday they are continuing to use Pfizer in aged care as it only takes 3 weeks to make someone fully vaccinated. These are the people most at risk of dying, not the under 50s and they want them fully vaccinated as quickly as possible

The logic is a bit flawed though because with no covid in the community, the 12 week wait is manageable for these oldies. Better to ensure the staff working there (who are out in the community) are vaccinated first and fast, as they are the way the virus has got into aged care homes.

The government has much explaining to do as to why 1a isnt complete and why 1B are allowed to queue jump in front of 1a medical workers who actually work with Covid positives, who should have been top of 1a.

 

[Gremlin]

So we are both right as she has been giving the Pfizer vaccine only so the delivery is from the States.

No. The delivery is actually from the feds. The feds are using some state-owned cold storage facilities as part of their distribution management.

The states are being contacted by the providers/aged care facilities because of the lack of comms from the feds and the fact that, in some cases, the vaccines are sitting there in state-owned facilities. So the states have some small visibility of the delivery program that isn't being communicated to end providers. But the states themselves have no role in the delivery of vaccines to aged care.

Far from ideal.

 

[RooFlyer]

I hear on ABC radio that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine rollout in the US has been paused due to safety concerns.

Please step forward all those in this thread who have berated the federal government for not contracting for the supply of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

A lesson, perhaps. When you have trials involving tens of thousands of people, as is normal, they won’t pick up the side-effects which involve one or two people per million doses. Another lesson: hindsight is a wonderful thing, as is throwing rocks from the sidelines.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

The logic is a bit flawed though because with no covid in the community, the 12 week wait is manageable for these oldies. Better to ensure the staff working there (who are out in the community) are vaccinated first and fast, as they are the way the virus has got into aged care homes.

The government has much explaining to do as to why 1a isnt complete and why 1B are allowed to queue jump in front of 1a medical workers who actually work with Covid positives, who should have been top of 1a.

No covid in the community at the moment. We may vaccinate front line workers, but the vaccine doesn't prevent getting covid, or transmitting it.

Better to vaccinate the person likely to end up dying, than the person likely to survive?

 

[Princess Fiona]

No covid in the community at the moment. We may vaccinate front line workers, but the vaccine doesn't prevent getting covid, or transmitting it.

Better to vaccinate the person likely to end up dying, than the person likely to survive?

This isn’t the case. The vaccines do prevent people from getting covid and increasing real life data from Israel etc that they prevent transmission.

 

[RooFlyer]

The vaccines do prevent people from getting covid

I must admit I haven’t been following the technical discussions that closely of late, just focusing on normal things in life. This is big news for me. Apologies if you’ve done it before, but is there some technical information you can post or link to, please? Probably better than the random Google searches I might do.