Coronavirus vaccine news

[sptrawler]

Maybe China is making an offer, no one can refuse?

 

[Humid]

AstraZeneca Jab Renamed ‘Franking Credits’ To Encourage Take Up Amongst Elderly — The Shovel

"It's just the injection I needed!"

www.theshovel.com.au

This will get sp motivated...

 

[IFocus]

This is pretty good...not as good as Humid's post BTW

Its interesting if only showing a good example the spin run out instead of just sticking to realities of supply and distribution problems

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

 

[Knobby22]

I take heart that the vaccination rates are increasing now and the Government is now sourcing the Moderna vaccine.

 

[IFocus]

I take heart that the vaccination rates are increasing now and the Government is now sourcing the Moderna vaccine.

So do I Knobby, I suspect by and large the issues will now be hesitancy or rejection of AZ which I can understand.

 

[sptrawler]

I take heart that the vaccination rates are increasing now and the Government is now sourcing the Moderna vaccine.

Also it sounds as though Moderna are going to build a plant here.

 

[Miss Hale]

If you live in Melbourne and are over 50 and haven't had your vaccine, all I can say is "feeling lucky....punk." ?

Is that a threat?

 

[Knobby22]

Is that a threat?

Its a joke! Read it again.

 

[grah33]

why would u want to get vaccinated if you're young?

 

[bellenuit]

Because young people can catch the virus. And in some it has led to death and in others permanent disabilities. The risk of side effects from the vaccine is low in comparison to the risk of getting Covid and being debilitated by its side effects. It is a low cost precaution.

 

[Belli]

why would u want to get vaccinated if you're young?

It would seem the new variant (and there will be more) is more transmissible and the experience in some countries indicate the death rate for younger people is rising with newer variants.

 

[sptrawler]

This sounds promising, there may be an ability to mix and match vaccines.

Can I get AstraZeneca now and Pfizer later?

While the TGA hasn't yet approved a mix and match vaccination schedule for Australia, some countries are already doing it. So how does mixing and matching work? Fiona Russell and John Hart explain.

www.abc.net.au

From the article:
If one vaccine is less effective than another against a certain variant, mix and match schedules could ensure people who've already received one dose of a vaccine with lower effectiveness could get a booster with a vaccine that's more effective against the variant.

Some countries are already using mix and match vaccine schedules following changing recommendations regarding the AstraZeneca vaccine because of a very rare side effect of a blood clotting/bleeding condition.

Several countries in Europe are now advising younger people previously given this vaccine as a first dose should receive an alternative vaccine as their second dose, most commonly mRNA vaccines such as Pfizer's.

Germany, France, Sweden, Norway and Denmark are among those advising mixed vaccination schedules due to this reason.

Is it safe?​

In a UK mix and match study published in the Lancet in May, 830 adults over 50 were randomised to get either the Pfizer or AstraZeneca vaccines first, then the other vaccine later.

It found people who received mixed doses were more likely to develop mild to moderate symptoms including chills, fatigue, fever, headache, joint pain, malaise, muscle ache and pain at the injection site, compared to those on the standard non-mixed schedule.

Is it effective?​

The Spanish study found people had a vastly higher antibody response 14 days after receiving the Pfizer booster.

These antibodies were able to recognise and inactivate the coronavirus in lab tests.

This response to the Pfizer boost seems to be stronger than the response after receiving two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, according to earlier trial data. The immune response of getting Pfizer followed by AstraZeneca isn't known yet, but the UK will have results available soon.

There's no data yet on how effective mix and match schedules are in preventing COVID-19. But they're likely to work well as the immune response is similar, or even better, compared with studies using the same vaccine as the first and second dose. This indicates they will work well in preventing disease.

Might this be one way to help resolve Australia's slow rollout?​

In Australia, we've seen many people wanting to "wait for Pfizer" and not have the AstraZeneca vaccine. This is despite the UK's recent real-world findings that, following two doses, both vaccines are similarly effective against the variants circulating in the UK.
The results from these mix and match studies support the possibility of vaccinating people who have received the first dose from AstraZeneca, with a different booster, if the need arises.

Further studies are underway to evaluate mix and match schedules with Moderna and Novavax vaccines, both of which Australia has supply deals with.
The current cases in Victoria are caused by the B.1.617.1 ("Indian") variant. Both vaccines are effective against the closely related B.1.617.2 variant (albeit a bit lower than against B.1.1.7) and we would expect similar effectiveness against B.1.617.1.

It's not clear what kind of evidence regulatory authorities, like Australia's TGA, would require for a mixed schedule to be approved for use.

 

[IFocus]

why would u want to get vaccinated if you're young?

Still a risk of requiring medical treatment but the issue is passing it onto the vulnerable and killing them.

 

[macca]

Still a risk of requiring medical treatment but the issue is passing it onto the vulnerable and killing them.

I am not trying to be argumentative, just cautious

The PM stated that even people that are vaccinated can still catch Covid and will still be contagious if they do catch it.

I have also read this on other sites

I am concerned that folk will get vaccinated and then ignore social distancing and other precautions and we will all be in lock down again

 

[bellenuit]

I am not trying to be argumentative, just cautious

The PM stated that even people that are vaccinated can still catch Covid and will still be contagious if they do catch it.

I have also read this on other sites

I am concerned that folk will get vaccinated and then ignore social distancing and other precautions and we will all be in lock down again

That is true, but we know the results coming out of the UK, US and now Canada show that the rate of breakthrough infection is exceedingly low, less than 5% I think. This is even better than had been expected and in those three countries is based on a substantial number of vaccinations not just a lab sample.

I think almost everyone vaccinated is aware that there is a slight possibility that could get reinfected and reinfect others, even if they themselves are asymptomatic. They would have to be living in a vacuum not to be unaware of that, but there will always be a few. However, the fact that they have been vaccinated (assuming voluntarily) would suggest that they are aware of how dangerous COVID19 is and how easy it can spread. Of more concern are those who refuse to get vaccinated or are just too complacent about it. They, IMO, are the ones that do not understand the seriousness of COVID19 and are more likely not to observe basic precautions because of their belief that it won't effect they themselves or will only cause mild symptoms. If they care little about protecting themselves from infection, they are likely to care less about protecting others.

 

[IFocus]

I am not trying to be argumentative, just cautious

The PM stated that even people that are vaccinated can still catch Covid and will still be contagious if they do catch it.

I have also read this on other sites

I am concerned that folk will get vaccinated and then ignore social distancing and other precautions and we will all be in lock down again

No argument Macca completely agree and as Bellenuit discusses above the risk is greatly reduced not eliminated for those not vaccinated.

BTW my mother got her 1st jab today in her nursing home and it was Pfizer... SP if you are reading booked into nursing care now

 

[rederob]

An update on our state of play compared to a ragbag of other nations:

Mongolia is set to take the lead by next week as it's vaccinating at more than twice the rate of every other nation except China.
On 31 May China jabbed over 22M citizens compared with America's 1.2M.

As at 31 May just over 3% of our population had received both doses.

 

[sptrawler]

As at 31 May just over 3% of our population had received both doses.

By the way rederob, as you are so great at putting up graphs, how about putting up a graph to show by country, how many deaths Australia has had due to covis compared to those above?
Myself and my wife are both prepared to take the vaccine, but we would like to have the mRNA vaccine, whether it is better or worse doesn't come into it, we personally have more faith in the mRNA vaccine..
As per usual that faith, may well be misplaced. ?

 

[rederob]

By the way rederob, as you are so great at putting up graphs, how about putting up a graph to show by country, how many deaths Australia has had due to covis compared to those above?
Myself and my wife are both prepared to take the vaccine, but we would like to have the mRNA vaccine, whether it is better or worse doesn't come into it, we personally have more faith in the mRNA vaccine..
As per usual that faith, may well be misplaced. ?

That info can be found here.
Regarding vaccines, as you have pointed out it's early days in terms of known side effects. mRNA vaccines clearly show good results in preventing development of symptoms. However, where symptoms are occurring, they tend to be more severe and require hospitalisation. Inactivated vaccines are significantly less efficacious, but what little data is available suggests severe symptoms are uncommon, hospitalisations are rare and deaths negligible. They would require regular boosters just as flu shots do. But we don't have them so its either Pf, AZ or Mod this year.
Anyway, as shown by the UK, Israel and even the USA, once high rates of vaccination penetration are achieved deaths reduce (none yesterday in the UK) and restrictive measures can be eased. Perhaps that data will be picked up by our government and lead to an earlier opening of international travel than otherwise planned.

 

[basilio]

Just as everyone in Victoria is taking vaccination very seriously we discover what the Federal has been doing to provide supply.
Just not enough.

‘Critical’ lack of Covid vaccine supply in Melbourne forcing GPs to turn people away

Undersupply so severe amid outbreak clinic forced to turn away residents of two care facilities

www.theguardian.com