The COVID-19 vaccine rollout in Australia has begun

[mviy]

Sutton could well have to visit areas with COVID positive patients (or nearby) as part of his work even if he’s not there most of the time.

 

[drron]

At the hospitals I work at all Admin staff who have no patient contact were in 1a.
it was reported that in the PA hospital in Brisbane although doctors and nurses working with covid patients had not all been vaccinated the Admin staff had been.

 

[mviy]

At the hospitals I work at all Admin staff who have no patient contact were in 1a.
it was reported that in the PA hospital in Brisbane although doctors and nurses working with covid patients had not all been vaccinated the Admin staff had been.

That is outrageous. They should have prioritised those with the most contact first, but the admin workers being the decision makers does mean they are like to self select.

 

[Lynda2475]

It has already been decided, it is to be built in VIC

This is a really stupid decision, having all vaccine capability in a single geographic region is illogical. One natural disaster can take out both.

Smart thing to do would be put anywhere but Victoria.

We all know Pfizer can cause clots. And AZ.

Well actually we dont all know this, as the claim by Oxford Uni has not been peer reviewed or accepted widely as fact.

And even if it does, the odds are lower and the time between doses faster, so Pfizer will still be a preferred option for many.

 

[dajop]

This is a really stupid decision, having all vaccine capability in a single geographic region is illogical. One natural disaster can take out both.

Smart thing to do would be put anywhere but Victoria.

The main natural disaster that effects Victoria are bushfires, floods and wind. It is not cyclone prone, for example, and whilst it does get occassional tremors, not particularly earthquake prone either.

The first two are manageable through finding a suitable location out of fire and flood risk areas (and probably best not to co-locate with other vaccine production) and third and earthquakes through design of the structures. I'm struggling to think of two pieces of non co-located infrastructure in Victoria that have been affected by natural disasters at the same time - or even by the much more likely industrial accidents/human caused disasters. The last significant piece of infrastructure in the state that was "taken" out - and my memory may be a bit faulty - that I can recall was the Longford Gas Plan in 1998.

On the positive side, the support that is provided by and expertise retained in Melbourne & Monash Universities and the Doherty Institute probably is a huge plus for a Victorian location.

 

[jakeseven7]

Smart thing to do would be put anywhere but Victoria.

How surprising you would say that

 

[jakeseven7]

The main natural disaster that effects Victoria are bushfires, floods and wind. It is not cyclone prone, for example, and whilst it does get occassional tremors, not particularly earthquake prone either.

The first two are manageable through finding a suitable location out of fire and flood risk areas (and probably best not to co-locate with other vaccine production) and third and earthquakes through design of the structures. I'm struggling to think of two pieces of non co-located infrastructure in Victoria that have been affected by natural disasters at the same time - or even by the much more likely industrial accidents/human caused disasters. The last significant piece of infrastructure in the state that was "taken" out - and my memory may be a bit faulty - that I can recall was the Longford Gas Plan in 1998.

On the positive side, the support that is provided by an expertise retain in Melbourne & Monash Universities and the Doherty Institute probably is a huge plus for a Victorian location.

Agreed, Melbourne is the capital of med tech and research in AU, so it makes sense from that perspective.

Sydney is more home to the branch offices of global pharmas, so makes less sense.

My home state QLD is perfect one day, perfecter the next so I guess we could be a good choice

 

[Lynda2475]

Risk Management is a huge part of my job, it is not the done thing - you dont put two data centres or critical supply/manufacture points in the same city. Distributing capability reduces many risk types.

There are medical research capabilities in most capital city universities - in fact a lot of the leading local Covid research was out of SA (Flinders) and Qld; and there medical research companies also based outside of Melbourne like Garvan Institute.

 

[mviy]

We can make vaccines locally and import. The overseas supply is from a different city to locally manufactured.

 

[jakeseven7]

We can make vaccines locally and import. The overseas supply is from a different city to locally manufactured.

As long as the overseas supply does NOT come in via Victoria then we should all be fine

 

[Pushka]

Of course it also assumes we can be provided with the IP to manufacture. I don't see the issue with Victoria. Some excellent research facilities. Of course, South Australia would be better but we are focussing on, umm, something else?

 

[Lynda2475]

We can make vaccines locally and import. The overseas supply is from a different city to locally manufactured.

Which is what we have now, but relying solely on overseas supply for modern vaccines leaves us vulnerable to supply blockages. This pandemic we have already seen EU, US and India block and or suspend exports at different times.

 

[jakeseven7]

Of course it also assumes we can be provided with the IP to manufacture. I don't see the issue with Victoria. Some excellent research facilities. Of course, South Australia would be better but we are focussing on, umm, something else?

Unfortunately, South Australia is directly ADJACENT to Victoria and therefore is also UNSUITABLE

 

[Pushka]

Unfortunately, South Australia is directly ADJACENT to Victoria and therefore is also UNSUITABLE

Leaving us with Qld, Tasmania and WA. Excellent choices.

 

[mviy]

Which is what we have now, but relying solely on overseas supply for modern vaccines leaves us vulnerable to supply blockages.

Which is why producing locally in ONE city here makes sense to protect against overseas supply issues. We’re too small to justify producing in multiple cities.

 

[Lynda2475]

but we are focussing on, umm, something else?

Someone trying to make an unfunny joke. My opinion re not putting both facilities in the one city, would be the same no matter which state/territory the current facility was in.

 

[dajop]

If it gets to the point that two vaccine productions presumably located in different parts of Victoria, or even just different parts of Melbourne, are simultaneously wiped out, the country (given that 25% of the population lives in Vic), will have much much bigger problems to deal with.....

 

[Pushka]

Someone trying to make an unfunny joke. My opinion re not putting both facilities in the one city, would be the same no matter which state/territory the current facility was in.

I laughed. Sometimes you just need to lighten things up around here. Even at my own states expense.

 

[Lynda2475]

Which is why producing locally in ONE city here makes sense to protect against overseas supply issues. We’re too small to justify producing in multiple cities.

Disagree, as there will be markets for Australian produced mrna vaccines in other countries, the output does not have to be entirely consumed by the domestic market. Just like the current CSL plant supplies overseas markets.

It about diversification of technology, so we are not dependent on and limited by very old tech long term.

 

[Lynda2475]

If it gets to the point that two vaccine productions presumably located in different parts of Victoria, or even just different parts of Melbourne, are simultaneously wiped out, the country (given that 25% of the population lives in Vic), will have much much bigger problems to deal with.....

Prolonged power outages would destroy vaccines but not wipe out people. Power outages can easily exceed the period which back up generators can run. Melbourne and Adelaide both have a history of rolling brownouts and blackouts in hot summers.

Treating poor policy decisions as a joke is why governments continue to not do proper due diligence before committing tax payer money.