The COVID-19 vaccine rollout in Australia has begun

[OZDUCK]

The first two of the WA large scale public vaccination clinics for all over 50's have opened today. As they previously said they would, the Premier and Health Minister have today had their first shots now that they have became part of an eligible group. (I consider the PM & Federal Health Minister having an 'early' vaccination perfectly reasonable as part of the initial national publicity for the vaccination rollout.)

 

[Pushka]

Certainly getting publicity in SA today too.

 

[Flying mermaid]

If demand isn't taken up - then I think should be open to all, as long as you make a reservation. Under 50, create two separate booking queues, one for AZ with waiver, one for Pfizer. Let's get the show on the road.

Need to see what happens over the next couple of weeks as vaccination for over 50s has just opened up, but if demand for AZ remains low then I think there is absolutely a case to let anyone who wants an AZ vaccination have one. Pfizer maybe needs to be more rationed to priority groups until supply increases. I was reading that CSL is now producing more than a million doses a week - going through batch testing at the moment. Hopefully that means supply to GPs will increase.

I was at playgroup with Bub today and chatting to another grandmother. Mentioned Mr FM and I were vaccinated last week. She said she really hadn’t decided whether to get it or not, as she never bothers with the flu vaccine. I just think there are too many people out there that only vaguely understand the potential severity of this for the older age group and also that we all need to get vaccinated in order to get herd immunity. I might leave in another 3 weeks or so and then ask again....

 

[Lynda2475]

ABC reports:

Technical glitches for ACT's online vaccine booking system​

The ACT Government has confirmed its online COVID-19 vaccination booking system is having technical problems on its first day of operation.

From today, Australians aged 50 and over are eligible for vaccinations.

Canberrans in that category can get their jabs at the Calvary vaccination centre and respiratory clinics.

But the new online system is having issues recognising medicare numbers — which authorities say they're working to fix.

People trying to book an appointment are being urged to call the ACT's COVID-19 vaccination line on 02 6207 7244.

 

[Flying mermaid]

ABC reports:

Technical glitches for ACT's online vaccine booking system​

The ACT Government has confirmed its online COVID-19 vaccination booking system is having technical problems on its first day of operation.

From today, Australians aged 50 and over are eligible for vaccinations.

Canberrans in that category can get their jabs at the Calvary vaccination centre and respiratory clinics.

But the new online system is having issues recognising medicare numbers — which authorities say they're working to fix.

People trying to book an appointment are being urged to call the ACT's COVID-19 vaccination line on 02 6207 7244.

Well you could knock me over with a feather! Not because it doesn’t work, but because it’s almost operational on time

Edit - went to ACT’s site and yes lots of info about the online booking process and also listing the super secret number and suggesting people can phone to book. (It is not the number mentioned above).

 

[Lynda2475]

Seems a good chunk (9/14) of the Vic mass vac clinics are also only taking phone (not online or walk-on) bookings.

And a reminder that NSW is deviating from other states:

• If you are a New South Wales resident and you are over the age of 50, you can book in at a commonwealth-run respiratory clinic now.
• Otherwise, you can wait the two weeks to 17 May and book in with your GP then.
• Failing that, from May 24, in three weeks' time, you will be able to book in at a vaccination hub like this one out at Homebush.

Seriously if you want people to book, make it easy, waiting on hold is not easy, filling in a web form is super easy.

Easier still have plenty of hubs which allow walk-ins.

 

[Pushka]

Seems a good chunk (9/14) of the Vic mass vac clinics are also only taking phone (not online or walk-on) bookings.

And a reminder that NSW is deviating from other states:

• If you are a New South Wales resident and you are over the age of 50, you can book in at a commonwealth-run respiratory clinic now.
• Otherwise, you can wait the two weeks to 17 May and book in with your GP then.
• Failing that, from May 24, in three weeks' time, you will be able to book in at a vaccination hub like this one out at Homebush.

Seriously if you want people to book, make it easy, waiting on hold is not easy, filling in a web form is super easy.

Easier still have plenty of hubs which allow walk-ins.

I think this may be one thing that SA is starting to get right. At last. Heaps of places now that are taking online bookings through healthengine and hotdoc. Plus the SA Health hub is taking online bookings now for appointments next week.

 

[Lynda2475]

The numbers as quoted in Hunt's presser today courteousy of the ABC covid blog:

"At this stage we have now distributed 4.1 million doses, which is 3.6 million which were available to the end of last week and half a million is available for this week.

"Of those 3.6 million, the total national vaccination is 2,260,615 vaccinations that have been completed, of which approximately 35 per cent are Pfizer and 65 per cent are AstraZeneca. That of course has been based on our domestic production which is at the heart of it.

"Amongst those 2.26 million, we have therefore a 73 per cent utilisation rate for those that have been distributed prior to the end of last week for availability last week.

"The states have provided about 815,000, and the Commonwealth 1,444,906 doses have been administered."

 

[lovetravellingoz]

I think this may be one thing that SA is starting to get right. At last. Heaps of places now that are taking online bookings through healthengine and hotdoc. Plus the SA Health hub is taking online bookings now for appointments next week.

In Vic you can walk in to the main hubs without a booking, or call.

Online booking a slot at a respiratory clinic was easy when we did it a few days ago. We recently booked for next week as it suited our social calendar , but thete were plenty of slots at multiple clinics this week to choose from, and wide open the week after.

If you are eligible and in Vic you can get vaccinated easily enough.

It will be interesting to see what the next 3 weeks produce.

From general conversations I think many have not even really thought about getting vaccinated yet, let alone bothered to learn how.

 

[Pushka]

From general conversations I think many have not even teally thought about getting vaccinated yet, let alone bothered to learn how.

Just my thoughts but I think now that more people now have access to the vaccination, then they will just go and get it done. Getting it seemed so remote just a month ago so all a bit negative but now that all over 50 have in reality, much easier access to an appointment then they will move on that.

 

[mviy]

That may well be the case. It'll be interesting to see what reports are as to how busy they are in a few weeks or a month or so, to see whether after the initial rush numbers decrease again.

 

[oznflfan]

Seems a good chunk (9/14) of the Vic mass vac clinics are also only taking phone (not online or walk-on) bookings.

And a reminder that NSW is deviating from other states:

• If you are a New South Wales resident and you are over the age of 50, you can book in at a commonwealth-run respiratory clinic now.
• Otherwise, you can wait the two weeks to 17 May and book in with your GP then.
• Failing that, from May 24, in three weeks' time, you will be able to book in at a vaccination hub like this one out at Homebush.

Seriously if you want people to book, make it easy, waiting on hold is not easy, filling in a web form is super easy.

Easier still have plenty of hubs which allow walk-ins.

Mass vaccination sites should only be walk in. You can get 100,000 people into the MCG for a big game and out again. If you wanted you could get this same 100,000 done from 6AM to 9PM on one day. Train up 1,000 vaccinators (one/two day course), pay them $1,000 tax free each day.

If this was Ebola vaccinations for every capital city would be done in weeks.

 

[louie-m]

Mass vaccination sites should only be walk in. You can get 100,000 people into the MCG for a big game and out again. If you wanted you could get this same 100,000 done from 6AM to 9PM on one day. Train up 1,000 vaccinators (one/two day course), pay them $1,000 tax free each day.

If this was Ebola vaccinations for every capital city would be done in weeks.

But you'd need 100,000 candidates for the vaccine. You can get an appointment without any difficulty in most places at a day or two's notice at max; there's simply isn't the demand for the vaccines right now. And in my opinion won't be, unless there is an outbreak or they announce the borders are to open.

 

[RAM]

Interesting history of the Marburg plant RAM except that CSL Behring didn't own it to sell to BioNtech.It was owned by Novartis.

CSL Behring developed & own the entire campus of multiple buildings and have leased facilities to other companies.

Novartis being one & had a long term lease for space (with their own plant & equipment installed) and announced in Sept 2202 they would sell the 'long term lease' to BioNTech. All changes that were to be made to the space were cleared with the Behringwerks campus management (so CSL knows exactly what is required to convert production & how long it takes to do).

Similar to how Q did not own the Sydney or Melbourne Terminals but sold the remaining time on their near expiry long term leases in 2018, 2019. Although many incorrectly reported it as Q selling their terminals.

Yes Novartis had sold it's vaccine division to CSL to form Seqirus.However the plant was not included in the sale.

Novartis announced the sale of the bulk of its vaccine business to GSK for $7.1bn in 2014. GSK did not want the Flu business, & subsequently CCL picked up the relatively small Flu vaccine business for $275m in 2015.

So sorry CSL did not have a plant in Germany ready to produce mRNA vaccines.

Never said they did.
I posted earlier that CSL specifically stated they had no interest in anything mRNA in late 2019 when meeting with a Funds Manager I know well.

 

[RAM]

Saying something is wrong without actually being specific is a normal State/Federal Govt tactic used to try and mislead when the facts are inconvenient. A bit like saying the vaccine rollout by the Federal Govt had been done well in the first 9 weeks.

That does not show me that CSL owns Behringwerke, which is operated by Pharmaserv. In your questionable campaign to discredit CSL, you originally stated that CSL owned the facility and many of your other assertions are not grounded in fact. Your "spoilers" continue a bunch of loosely relevant snippets of information that often don't support your conclusions. I've had fun, but I don't have the time to check all of your spoilers, sorry.

1 + 1 = 2.
I had hoped you might read what is written.
In the immediately following lines (of the post you refer to) there is an article that mentions 'CSL owns the site' that BioNTech has acquired the space in. Also that it is very fast to set-up the equipment.

Touring the CSL Behring site in Marburg, Germany

CSL Behring welcomes 5,000 visitors to its manufacturing and R&D site

www.cslbehring.com

More than 5,000 visitors recently took the opportunity to look behind the scenes of CSL Behring's leading-edge operation in Marburg, Germany, at an open house event for multiple businesses based at the site called “Behringwerke.”

So CSL owns the Behringwerke facility of which a component was under a long term lease to Novartis and this long term lease(d space) was subsequently sold to BioNTech - agreed?

 

[drron]

Sorry @RAM you certainly implied that not only did CSL own the facility at Marburg bought from the long term lessee Novartis but they knew what was going on there.
"
The CSL-owned facility that BioNTech purchased space in last December in Marburg, Germany is now producing 8 million doses every 5 days.
Production started in under 4 months from access (December 2020). The GSK facility in Melbourne ticks all the boxes & requires swapping out/in the equipment. The Federal Govt contracted the Pfizer vaccine before the Marburg facility conversion began & CSL knew for months before then exactly what is required (as the owner of the Marburg facility). It wouldn't help CSL's Australian revenue though nor its plans for the 2026 facility for Australian Flu vaccine production by aiding a competitor with more advanced technology so perhaps they did not 'share' this information with the Federal Govt - who knows as the wall of silence continues. Let's see if I can get some journalists to run with this as well!"

Now are you positive that CSL knew all the details of what Novartis was doing there -incidentally not making vaccines.
The link in the above post makes no mention of visitors looking behind the scenes at any leased part of the Marburg site.I think it highly unlikely the visitors would have been allowed into those other facilities.

So I regard your evidence as a smokescreen to advance your campaign against CSL.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Just my thoughts but I think now that more people now have access to the vaccination, then they will just go and get it done. Getting it seemed so remote just a month ago so all a bit negative but now that all over 50 have in reality, much easier access to an appointment then they will move on that.

Yes agree, momentum should now build.

 

[RAM]

Your words! START TO FINISH, for you to compare possibilities for mRNA facility in Australia. Obviously, you have to purchase the facility (from Novartis Sep 20) and then deliver the final approved product (Apr 21). It could not be clearer, but you continue to argue the point.

Again, your words were "start to finish" which you have diluted ever since.

Absolutely, I have been following their progress for some time.

BioNTech to Acquire GMP Manufacturing Site to Expand COVID-19 Vaccine Production Capacity in First Half 2021 | BioNTech

Mainz, Germany, Sept. 17, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Facility will become one of the largest mRNA manufacturing sites in Europe and the third site in the BioNTech manufacturing network in Germany expected to produce BNT162 for global supply Expected to be fully operational in the first half 2021 with

investors.biontech.de

September 2020, that would be your "start". You generally can't operate in a facility, that you don't have rights on.

Fairly familiar with project timelines. Purchase, build or repurpose a facility (Sep2020), purpose-build the plant (in this case, highly specialised, not 'simple' as you mentioned somewhere). Testing, approvals, production, distribution. (April 2021). And remember this is the originator company, already in production in high-tech Germany.

Repeating/twisting the same out of context quoting does not alter the context in the original post which was concerning how long it can take to re-purpose an existing facility to commence production of the BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine. Which was discussed by an Australian mRNA expert who hailed from that very village, and article included in the post.

From the date of physical posession being granted to the first manufacturing was from December 2020 to 10 Feb 2021 media release announcing commencing manufacturing (link from BioNTech previously provided). Just under 3 months.

Final sign-off by regulatory authorities in Germany & the EU happened 25/26 March. So around 4 months & 1 week from financial close to re-purpose an existing plant, commence production & gain full approval.

The article headline, and context of post, "Frustrated experts say Australia could already be producing mRNA Covid vaccines if it had acted earlier" = Fact.

Deflecting on whether it is 3 months, 4 months or 6 months does not change inconvenient truth that a major opportunity has been squandered & in stark contrast to the oft-quoted claims - Australia was not first in the queue for vaccines.

 

[oznflfan]

But you'd need 100,000 candidates for the vaccine. You can get an appointment without any difficulty in most places at a day or two's notice at max; there's simply isn't the demand for the vaccines right now. And in my opinion won't be, unless there is an outbreak or they announce the borders are to open.

And that is the pollies conundrum. Desperately don't want the former, and scared as hell to do the latter. Don't want one person to die from COVID on their watch, media blame and votes lost.

 

[oznflfan]

Thinking (dangerous I know) that this could be a plan of the Government. 2A & 2B vaccine hesitancy could and likely will press back vaccination rates. One tactic could be for Scomo to pull an early election say October, then make vague commentary on looking at borders next year once everyone vaccinated.

Comes out 1/1/2022 and states risks have changed, vaccines proven, world opening up, Australia being left behind, and open the borders unconditionally to fully vaccinated Australians to leave and return, and same for fully vaccinated tourists and visitors. Date of open 31/3/2022.

That gives general population 3 full months to get vaccinated, and he pours massive resources into Vaccination hubs. even more. Motivation to A) Travel (me) and B) not catch COVID (even though chances minimised with full vaccination).

What do you think?