The COVID-19 vaccine rollout in Australia has begun

[justinbrett]

Now that I've had both my Pfizer shots I'm able to access the online booking system again and check availability. So with regard to the 'people in Melbourne can't get an appointment within 6 weeks of their first Pfizer' statement, this is what I see today if I look for availability.

Showgrounds....676 appointments between now and 28/07...so essentially any day between now and then and abundance of options.

View attachment 251763Convention Centre...370 options....pick a time tomorrow

View attachment 251764Sandown - 239 options

View attachment 251765
...and of course there are many more options to choose from.

I strongly would think that these complaints are arising from people not being able to book into the venue of their choosing. For example, the Alfred where I went is much smaller and has no availability.

Interesting, the NSW website won't let you book your first unless there's a second appointment available. You have to book both at the same time (and have to be at the same location)

 

[Lynda2475]

Interesting, the NSW website won't let you book your first unless there's a second appointment available. You have to book both at the same time (and have to be at the same location)

Which makes it much simpler to guarantee dose availability and ensure people come back (rather than having to remember to book again).

 

[kangarooflyer88]

The key is choice and control. With other vaccines including the Flu vax (there are at least 4 this year) as adults we have a choice.

Respectfully, I have no such choice when getting the flu jab, it's simply one manufacturer I have, and believe you me I checked the various pharmacies around Sydney and they all provide the flu jab from the same manufacturer. However, in my case, I need to get the flu vaccine or face the prospect of being hospitalized for weeks should I catch the virus given my weakened immune system.

It is unfair to look at COVID cases, deaths, and hospitalizations in Australia since it's based on historical data that doesn't apply today. Back in 2020 we didn't have a strain of COVID that spreads more than twice as fast as the original strain and is more deadly than the original strain. In 2020 we didn't have the quarantine leakage in Sydney that we are experiencing right now. We didn't have cases that freely crossed state borders turning a state issue into a commonwealth issue. And lastly, last year we didn't have an effective vaccine generally available to largely prevent catching COVID. Things are different now and we must embrace this new reality rather than simply saying "well it hasn't hurt us yet, let's take our sweet time with the vaccines." Are there exceedingly rare but significant risks of getting the AstraZeneca vaccine? Absolutely, but so are the risks for getting the Pfizer, Moderna, or Johnson & Johnson vaccine! We also know the risks of COVID to our health and to our freedoms. Australia has paid an exceedingly heavy price to remain at COVID-zero by locking down the entire country for over 18 months, some on this forum have argued this lockdown violates the UN Charter of Human Rights. I've said it before and I'll say it again, "the best vaccine is the one you can get right now"

Safe Jabbing,

KangarooFlyer88

 

[Lynda2475]

I have no such choice when getting the flu jab

Respectfully you do, you are just going about it the wrong way (just like using hot docs limited your choice of where to get a Corvid vaccine to what GPs were offering whereas using the govt eligibility checker would have also given you the state hub options) .

If your local pharmac_ doesn't have the vax you want, you simply have your GP order you a dose of the one you need or ask the pharmac_ to order what you want (sometimes this needs a prescription from your GP).

All approved Flu vax for this year are outlined Influenza (flu) | The Australian Immunisation Handbook

and is more deadly than the original strain

I think you will find that is not proven. It is more transmissible, but we are not seeing more serious illness. And whilst Delta has only got into the community a couple of times, we have been receiving overseas arrivals with Delta all year and the number of arrivals going into hospital has remained pretty static - and no deaths so far.

in 2020 we didn't have the quarantine leakage

Did you sleep through the Melbourne second wave - that was HQ leakage on the grandest scale.

We didn't have cases that freely crossed state borders turning a state issue into a commonwealth issue.

I guess you also didnt hear about the Crossroads cluster which was started when a business traveler from Melbourne came to Sydney during the second wave and started a cluster that resulted in 1 death.

Australia has paid an exceedingly heavy price to remain at COVID-zero

And i have never supported Covid-Zero as the goal. All except one of the domestic boarder closures has been unjustified IMO. Restrictions need to be targeted and not over reaching.

 

[levelnine]

Well today well and truly confirmed why we have the slowest vaccine roll out in the OECD. A disaster of monumental proportions as I predicted many months ago. Very funny to look back at the people in this thread telling me Australia was doing well on the vaccine front and there's nothing to worry about LOL.

 

[Lynda2475]

So in todays presser WA Premier said:

"Our supplies are limited but every bit of advice we get is in the course of the next month, certainly by the end of July, there will be large supplies of Pfizer coming in. The death rates overseas of people over 60 are higher than people under 60. Just get them vaccinated. If that means giving them access to Pfizer, just do it."

Given there are plentiful supplies of AZ now for over 60s, why does WA need Pfizer for them?

 

[bcworld]

Love the way this cartoonist does Morrison.

 

[Lynda2475]

Good news Gladys confirmed today that "There are also plans for a new mass vaccination hub at Lake Macquarie as well as a Wollongong site"

The more state run mass vaccination hubs the better.

 

[RooFlyer]

It was like a train wreck, couldn’t avert my eyes

QLD premier or Federal Home Affairs?

 

[Lynda2475]

No reason it should be. Vaccinated, accepting Olympics for Qld.

Ah you missed the irony as AP did a rant about business travel this morning, hence by her own standards she shouldn't be going, vaccinated or not.

Accepting the Olympics doesn't require physical collection of anything, could be acknowledged via video.

 

[Batterytraveller]

You Couldn't make this up

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1409779948437479425

 

[Princess Fiona]

Just in my inbox from the AMA regarding the AZ update to under 40 being able to get from GP. They are supportive.
“The change merely removes the restriction and allows all adult Australians access to the approved vaccine. It gives GPs the opportunity to provide the AZ vaccine if this is the patient preference, as long as the risks and benefits have been discussed and the patient has provided informed consent.”

 

[Princess Fiona]

Good news Gladys confirmed today that "There are also plans for a new mass vaccination hub at Lake Macquarie as well as a Wollongong site"

The more state run mass vaccination hubs the better.

This was announced on the 8th June
It’s the old Bunnings at Belmont.

The Wollongong site is new news.

 

[kangarooflyer88]

I am under 40 and I think I will wait for my Pfizer dose, as I think I am at lower risk, because I always try to limit contact with others, and try to follow advice where possible

The problem with that thought process is it is very difficult to shield oneself from the Delta variant of COVID. Several cases have emerged where a person gets infected by just walking past someone who is carrying it. So yeah, I absolutely agree we should be shielding ourselves from COVID, following the public health orders to only go out when necessary. But at the end of the day we still need to go out to get groceries, refill prescriptions and get medical treatment (all of which are perfectly permissible even with the strictest lockdown). Even if people are following the rules and wearing masks how are you to be sure that you won't walk past one of these people infected with the Delta variant in the shopping centre or whilst waiting in a queue at the Woolies?

I agree with others that the government screwed up here by putting all their eggs in one basket, namely AstraZeneca. But that doesn't change the fact that we have to make the best of what we have available today. Just wishing something is so doesn't make it so! Hence, I would encourage you to discuss the vaccine with your GP. There are risks with both the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines but they must be weighed against the chance they occur (extremely rare) and the potential benefits (e.g. avoiding a virus that kills about 3% of people it infects).

I find it equally disgusting to see QLD and WA pretend that they are your GPs and have all the answers for vaccinations when that clearly isn't the case. WA has been hiding the fact for some time that their medical system is under stress with hospitals in Perth recently reporting a code black (e.g. at 98% capacity) and that a major outbreak like COVID would literally bring the system to its knees (see this video interview with Dr. Nigel Farrier a physician based in Perth). The fact Premiers in both states would politicize the vaccine rollouts potentially putting many of their residents at risk is abhorrent if I were being charitable, and some more colourful language that I will not post here if I was being honest.

Your Trusty,

KangarooFlyer88

 

[Lynda2475]

I am under 40 and I think I will wait for my Pfizer dose, as I think I am at lower risk, because I always try to limit contact with others, and try to follow advice where possible

And that is a perfectly reasonable and valid choice. You should not feel pressured to get AZ.

But at the end of the day we still need to go out to 1. get groceries, 2. refill prescriptions and 3. get medical treatment

1 & 2 can be ordered online and delivered if you are fearful.

Note that in the suspected cases of fleeting transmission neither of the people were wearing masks and did not maintain 2m distance at all times.

 

[justinbrett]

Good news Gladys confirmed today that "There are also plans for a new mass vaccination hub at Lake Macquarie as well as a Wollongong site"

The more state run mass vaccination hubs the better.

Lake Macquarie was announced quite a while ago (might have only made Newcastle news) - I believe it's in an old Bunnings? There has been many jokes about a sausage sizzle to entice people into their jab.

 

[justinbrett]

Well today well and truly confirmed why we have the slowest vaccine roll out in the OECD. A disaster of monumental proportions as I predicted many months ago. Very funny to look back at the people in this thread telling me Australia was doing well on the vaccine front and there's nothing to worry about LOL.

As the saying goes you can get any statistic to prove your point.

It depends on your metric (we have a very low total vaccination rate - but we are above the world average for first dosage rate - which is arguably much more important).

We are delivering doses faster than NZ (so by logic we'll get to total vaccinated before them)

We aren't doing great but it's not quite as bad as many are making out, and importantly the situation is improving remarkably quickly.

Unfortunately it's become all too political.

 

[kangarooflyer88]

And that is a perfectly reasonable and valid choice. You should not feel pressured to get AZ.


1 & 2 can be ordered online and delivered if you are fearful.

Note that in the suspected cases of fleeting transmission neither of the people were wearing masks and did not maintain 2m distance at all times.

I agree that everyone should exercise their discretion and choice about the vaccine. However, one concern I have with the continued focus on the AstraZeneca vaccine is it removes attention from the serious but rare side effects of both the Pfizer and Moderna mRNA based vaccines, namely the heart-related issues that develop in younger adults (see this informative summary by the ABC). At the same time, ATAGI, AMA, and state governments do not make it clear how rare these side effects are making it difficult for the general public to gauge the relative safety and appropriateness for them. Every time we fly we accept there is an exceedingly rare (but non-trivial) risk that the flight we are in crashes, yet we choose to take the flight because we enjoy travelling. Patients need to know the facts on the safety and the risks with COVID. Living in the bubble we have for the past year throughout most of Australia, we do not understand nor appreciate the risks of getting COVID as our neighbours in the States, Canada and Europe have.

In any event, we should be pleased with the large number of choices that are available on the market today. I suspect if you asked anyone on this forum one year ago if we'd have a vaccine ready to market in a year they would think you were crazy, never mind the dozens available now. The onus is on the commonwealth to reconsider their choices in vaccines: whilst we do have an excellent supply of AstraZeneca, that may not be appropriate for everyone and won't cover the protection deficit we are in relative to other countries.

In terms of ordering groceries and prescriptions online and having them delivered, yes that sounds wonderful on paper but may not always be possible. There are parts of Greater Sydney where neither Woolies nor Coles will deliver to. In particular, I am thinking of dormitories or gated apartments/stratas. For instance, during the first lockdown in Sydney I had Woolies deliver to my residence at Macquarie Uni, and on many occasions, I would receive a notification that the delivery van went out but no one ever came by. Come to find out that they must be able to pull up beside the residence and I need to provide them with very specific instructions on where to park and how I'll meet them. Note: I had to go outside and meet the delivery driver to escort them to my residence. At the same time, there are often minimum order limits which make the service out of reach for many bachelors (e.g. $100). I frankly cannot spend that much on groceries in one week, and batching my grocery shop into two weeks won't work well since the milk and produce will go bad by week 2 in my experience. I have not tried the prescription delivery service, although that's something I'll look into - I'm guessing I just call up the Chemist and they'll deliver or is there something special I need to do?

Your Friendly,

KangarooFlyer88

 

[drron]

I agree with others that the government screwed up here by putting all their eggs in one basket, namely AstraZeneca. But that doesn't change the fact that we have to make the best of what we have available today.

Your Trusty,

KangarooFlyer88

No they didn't.They chose 4 vaccines.
AZ.
UQ
Pfizer
Novavax

Both AZ and UQ were slated to be manufactured in Australia.
Nothing wrong with the UQ vaccine as far as effect on covid but it induced a false positive HIV test in many individuals.This would cause problems in the future so it was scrapped.
AZ then has the problem with clots which has been magnified by a press scare campaign.
Novavax delayed due to a combination of not getting an existing company to help with marketing and production and then a lack of many of the products essential for the manufacture of vaccines.

Then the problem with lack of promised deliveries earlier in the rollout for both Pfizer and AZ.

When obvious problems Moderna supplies have been added due to start in the next 3 months.

Compared to NZ the plan was better conceived as they really did put all their eggs in one basket with Pfizer and ran into the same problem with the delay in delivery.

Now Israel was able to get early supplies of Pfizer but they paid a price that many Australians wouldn't be prepared to pat - they agreed to supply the medical data on those vaccinated to Pfizer.

 

[drron]

The Commonwealth government has been open and transparent as to vaccine orders,amounts and dates entered into.All listed here.This page is continually updated.

Australia’s vaccine agreements

The Australian Government has invested a total of over $18 billion in Australia’s vaccine and COVID-19 treatment supply as part of the COVID-19 Health response. Learn more about our vaccine agreements.

www.health.gov.au