The COVID-19 vaccine rollout in Australia has begun

[Flying mermaid]

Weekly vaccination stakes update. Have overtaken India and kept a nose in front of Jordan but have been overtaken by Equatorial Guinea, leaving us in 80th spot. Still hopeful that with increased vaccinations and second jabs happening in mid June we might still make progress up the ranks…….

 

[jakeseven7]

From all the chatter at work I really think this SA/VIC outbreak is spurring a lot of the vaccine snobs / hesitant people into action.

One of our admin staff, eligible for weeks and weeks now has booked for next week and was ‘upset’ about having to wait that long.... seriously....

I pointed out to them that it was their own fault and hopefully the outbreak wouldn’t spread to here before they got their jab

 

[jakeseven7]

This is what we want to see! Some panic and urgency

————

‘Risk is increasing’: Vaccines could go to under 40s if cluster grows​

Health authorities are ready to give all adults under 50 first doses of the Pfizer vaccine or change advice on who can get AstraZeneca if Victoria’s growing coronavirus cluster makes an overhaul of the national vaccination strategy necessary.

Amid growing calls to speed up the vaccination program, Premier James Merlino announced Victoria’s mass COVID-19 vaccine centres will administer Pfizer shots for anyone aged 40 to 49.

Professor Fiona Russell, a vaccines adviser to the World Health Organisation, said Victoria’s plan to widen vaccine accessibility to Victorians in their 40s or below failed to target young people, who posed the greatest danger of spreading the virus quickly during an outbreak.

“We know that people aged 20 to 29 are the main transmitters of this virus and that’s where Pfizer should be being allocated,” Professor Russell said, noting that those in their 40s were unlikely to become severely ill with the virus and were not huge transmitters of the disease.

‘Risk is increasing’: Vaccines could go to under 40s if Victorian cluster spirals

Health authorities are ready to overhaul the nation’s strategy on the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines to immunise as many adults as possible if the Victorian coronavirus cluster grows.

www.theage.com.au

 

[mviy]

The Age headline today on the Front Page is "Push for jab overhaul" describing a push to get every unvaccinated adult under 50 their first dose of Pfizer. Sounds like the same article that jakeseven7 mentioned just above.

 

[jakeseven7]

Was lovely seeing our insipid Health Minister getting torn apart last night

A bit of flame throwers, panic in the population will hopefully light some fires to kick start a new urgency around vaccination...

----
Leigh Sales rips into Greg Hunt on 7:30 over slow Covid vaccine rollout

Leigh Sales has blasted federal Health Minister Greg Hunt over Australia’s slow vaccine rollout, at one point expressing horror when he revealed that 74 nursing homes around the country remained unvaccinated.

Sales’ fiery interview with Mr Hunt trended across social media overnight as authorities announced a vaccination blitz underway for those aged between 40-49 in Victoria, with that age group eligible for the Pfizer vaccine from Friday.

My favourite part:

Sales: “Minister, can you please address what I was talking to you about. How many facilities does that mean, aged care facilities, have not had vaccination yet?

Hunt: “In Victoria, we have nine to complete tomorrow.”

Sales: “What about nationally?”

Hunt: “Around Australia, prior to today, because we haven’t had today’s figures come in. We had 74 still to go.”

Sales: “74 still to go? You said on 16th February that it would take six weeks.

“We know these are the most vulnerable people in the country based on the death data that we saw last year.

“How can 74 places not have been vaccinated yet?” Sales was incredulous.

“So if Covid rips through an unvaccinated aged care facility, that’s on you or Minister Colbeck?”

Leigh Sales rips into Greg Hunt on 7:30 over slow Covid vaccine rollout

Leigh Sales has blasted federal Health Minister Greg Hunt over Australia’s slow vaccine rollout, at one point expressing horror when he revealed that 74 nursing homes around the country remained unvaccinated.

www.news.com.au

 

[jakeseven7]

Our leadership has been wonderful....

---------------

As Victorians head back into lockdown after an outbreak in South Australia, the slow pace of Australia’s COVID-19 vaccine campaign has again been thrust into the spotlight.

“If more people were vaccinated, we might be facing a very different set of circumstances than we are today,” Victoria’s Acting Premier James Merlino told reporters on Thursday.

The rollout has suffered multiple setbacks ranging from disruptions to global supply, to delays in local production and unreliable distribution from the Commonwealth to the states and GPs.

The short, confusing history of Australia’s shifting vaccination targets

Is Australia's slow vaccine rollout to blame for Victoria's latest lockdown? We've tracked more than a dozen targets, revisions and updates to the vaccine timetable.

www.abc.net.au

 

[jakeseven7]

Federal Government forced into quick action (good)

-----------

All aged care residents in Victoria to now be vaccinated by the end of the day: Hunt​

All residents in Victorian aged care homes will receive at least their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine by the end of today.

Following the outbreak in Melbourne, it was revealed dozens of facilities still hadn't begun the immunisation process and now nine centres are still waiting.

Victoria's lockdown 'very different' from last year's, Greg Hunt says

The Federal Health Minister hails the "early" lockdown in Victoria and high testing rate, saying the low COVID case numbers today provide hope for the state.

www.abc.net.au

 

[HappyFlyerFamily]

Federal Government forced into quick action (good)

-----------

All aged care residents in Victoria to now be vaccinated by the end of the day: Hunt​

All residents in Victorian aged care homes will receive at least their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine by the end of today.

Following the outbreak in Melbourne, it was revealed dozens of facilities still hadn't begun the immunisation process and now nine centres are still waiting.

Victoria's lockdown 'very different' from last year's, Greg Hunt says

The Federal Health Minister hails the "early" lockdown in Victoria and high testing rate, saying the low COVID case numbers today provide hope for the state.

www.abc.net.au

I wonder how much in aged care was a result of hesitancy by the resident or facility doctor/nurse and how much it was as a result of slow rollout.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Ok., I ffound some stats on Aged Care Residents (Note you need to also add in those in Disability Care. So numbers to be vaccinated will be higher in this category). And yes was of as last June and so actual numbers will be different. However it is not really surprising that numbers in residential age care are pretty much pro-rat with each jurisdication's population.

People using aged care - AIHW Gen

Australia’s aged care system offers a variety of services which cater to the needs of diverse populations. This topic explores the age, sex, location, and backgrounds of people using aged care.

www.gen-agedcaredata.gov.au

Number of people using aged care services by ACPR, 30 June 2020

In Residential Care

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Vic has a lot of urban sprawl. I imagine with the cold storage requirements that would provide significant logistical challenges with rolling out the Pfizer vaccine.

There are multiple Pfizer storage hubs in Victoria. So logistics within the state are not the issue.


Vaccinations in Aged Care is run by the Feds, and so they have determined the rate of vaccination and where vaccination occurred.

I think it is very clear from the Vaccination rate figures over time that they chose for whatever reason to vaccinate those in residential aged care a ta lower rates in Victoria than elsewhere in Australia. Given what happened in residential aged care in Victoria last year I personally find that surprising that it was not at least pro-rata.

Some in residential aged care Australia have not yet received their first dose, and many more are still awaiting their second dose. Given that the Feds have allowed 40-49 year olds with no risk priority to already be vaccinated you have to wonder at their thinking.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

I wonder how much in aged care was a result of hesitancy by the resident or facility doctor/nurse and how much it was as a result of slow rollout.

Well the three homes that I have personal knowledge of all residents were vaccinated when the vaccination team at last turned up.

A team arrives at the home to do the vaccinations. Or at least the ones that I know about.



A separate process is administering the Flu Vaccine within the home as well.

 

[Lynda2475]

Vic Parliament puts aged care numbers quite a bit higher

Parliament of Victoria - Residential aged care in Victoria quick guide

This Quick Guide provides a brief overview of the size, operation and recent history of residential aged care in Victoria

www.parliament.vic.gov.au

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Vic Parliament puts aged care numbers quite a bit higher

View attachment 249029

Parliament of Victoria - Residential aged care in Victoria quick guide

This Quick Guide provides a brief overview of the size, operation and recent history of residential aged care in Victoria

www.parliament.vic.gov.au

Your figures are from June 2019 and are places. The ones I quoted were from June 2020 and are people.

But yes sources may be different. However both clearly show that we are still way off all aged care residents being fully vaccinated.

 

[Lynda2475]

Your figures are from June 2019. The ones I quoted were from June 2020.

Doesn't seem feasible that number of people in aged care in NSW fell by almost 15% in 1 year. The population is getting older not younger, if there was a mass exodus of people from aged care there should have been media coverage.

 

[Flying mermaid]

We might be finding the rollout slow here, but spare a thought for developing countries. My brother (who is 74) and his wife managed to get vaccinated in Johannesburg last week after queuing for 4 hours at a clinic which had Pfizer that was going to be thrown out as it was about to expire.

 

[Flying mermaid]

And Canberra looks starting to vaccinate 40 to 49 year olds - announcement expected next week. Ever the optimist, but it does feel like we are gathering momentum

 

[Batterytraveller]

Queuing at Jeff’s shed and happy to be her for the next 4-5 hours. A lot of people in line who have been eligible for weeks though.

 

[Lynda2475]

Qantas wanting to offer some incentives to vaccinated people, Id prefer status credits over point, pints are very easy to come b:

From SMH:

Qantas floats vaccine incentives​

Qantas and Jetstar are considering giving Qantas Frequent Flyer points or flight vouchers to vaccinated Australians in a bid to encourage more people to get immunised.

Details of the incentive are still being fleshed out, but it could include domestic or international travel vouchers for both airlines or about 1000 frequent flyer points. The plan, which has been taken to the federal and NSW governments, would include people who have already been vaccinated and run until the end of the year.

Qantas chief customer officer, Stephanie Tully, said the company relied on travel so it was keen to help with the national vaccine effort and get its people and planes back to work.

“The demand for domestic travel has been really strong and we know a lot of people can’t wait to see family overseas,” she said.

“There are already a lot of good reasons to get a vaccine as soon as you’re able to, and we’d be happy to add another one to the list. Hopefully, other companies are looking at incentive options as well.”

“Qantas is a big supporter of Australia’s vaccine rollout because of what it means for public health, but also because it’s the key to keeping our domestic borders open and safely restarting international travel as well. The situation in Melbourne shows the importance of everyone getting vaccinated,” Ms Tully said.

Australia news LIVE: Victoria begins lockdown as state records four more local cases; NSW Labor leader Jodi McKay expected to resign

Victorians are waking up to their first day of a seven-day lockdown, NSW is issuing stay-at-home orders to people who cross the border and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has rejected claims he bungled the UK’s pandemic response.

www.smh.com.au

 

[Must...Fly!]

Qantas and Jetstar are considering giving Qantas Frequent Flyer points or flight vouchers to vaccinated Australians in a bid to encourage more people to get immunised.

Good idea.

I was asked at work yesterday how I felt about incentives given I got my vaccine without an incentive. My reply was that my life has changed significantly due to covid and my mental health has been very heavily compromised as a result even though I'm securely employed. I don't need or want an incentive, but if normal means other people get a $50 or $100 gift card to be vaccinated then so be it. I don't care, just get vaccines out there and let's start living again.

 

[mviy]

Some in residential aged care Australia have not yet received their first dose, and many more are still awaiting their second dose. Given that the Feds have allowed 40-49 year olds with no risk priority to already be vaccinated you have to wonder at their thinking.

There's a big difference between 40-49 year-olds going to hubs and taking Pfizer out to individual aged care facilities and doing vaccinations there. The government still needs to ensure the rest of the rollout progresses whilst vaccinating those in the highest risk categories or the rollout would take months longer than it needs to. Also 40 to 49 year olds are one key demographic who would have parents in aged care (next most likely to have parents in aged care after the younger 50+ cohort). If you had kids in your 30s you'd be in your 70s or 80s when your kids are in their 40s. So indirectly vaccinating 40 to 49 year olds is going to help protect those in aged care.