AZ stuffed up about November last year when its final trial was not accepted by the FDA due to not enough over 60s being included in the cohort. That is when the media first latched onto it, and then they followed up when it started having the clot issues. AZ is partly to blame for the media issues because of how they handled the final trial. They still haven't bothered to try to re-certify with the FDA as they really don't care, hence why its not available in the USA. The issue the feds had is that they put all their eggs in the AZ basket and didn't want to bargain with the other makers. The UK, Europe, USA all had large amounts of doses from at least 2 or 3 manufacturers. Australia was left with AZ and a dribble of Pf due to the poor planning at the start.

BTW Fiji has been using a lot of unwanted Australian AZ to get its population up above 50% DD. I found this amusing FAQ note in the Fiji's Department of health;Can science prove a vaccine evil? or not...

Risk compensation would've driven it, CSL was making plenty of AZ back in February

Not quite correct. Better do a little more research.

The trouble I have with the media is that we are fed the media's opinion of the news, not the factual news.
I had the AZ as soon as I could get it based on what facts I could read, not the opinion on the so called jurnos we have in OZ.

One of the other problems is that we are have to many "authorities" in Oz.
One approves a vaccine for use by over 16 yo based on trials and another contradicts that approval limiting the use to a particular cohort.
This is what the media in Oz loves, a conflict, especially if they can involve our elected reps.

So did I. Except that I had mine in March, before any negative AZ news came to light.

Agreed. Once the Astra-Zeneca TTS side-effect became news in Australia in April 2021, I could not find one major news outlet in Australia who was interested in providing the actual data. On either side of the political media fence that is so prevalent in this country, The data was easily obtainable, I subsequently discovered, on the UK public health website. Interestingly, that data did not support what our politicians were saying, nor did it support what our left nor right leaning media were saying. It was as if either no-one cared about the truth, or the entire media and political system considered that the truth didn’t matter anymore.

The argument seemed to have devolved into pure politics and/or spin.

The Governments of the Day (all of them, Fed and State), enjoyed palming off the decision making to non-elected “Health Officials”. That was worse, because the “health officials” ended up coming across as even more biased than the politicians! Did they provide the data? No. Did they provide any evidence for their decisions? No. Was there any transparency to the data flow that led to their decision making processes? No. Could they be questioned? No.

The decisions were being made on “the best available medical advice”. Well, I can’t argue about that. It’s midnight and I have an itchy arse. The best available medical advice to me right now is coming from my dog, and you might prefer that I don’t share what he is suggesting.

But my dog knows where his next feed comes from, and he will provide whatever medical advice is necessary to ensure he gets a feed tomorrow morning, no matter how unpalatable or how unnatural it might feel for him right now.

For those of you who have got to this part and have read my entire post (jokes aside), ask yourself - am I pro AZ or am I anti AZ? Or am I arguing something else?

Not really. They had batches of the AstraZeneca vaccine in production but nothing had reached the pre-release fill and finish stage until late March.

People forget that a lot of eggs, 51m doses, were in the University of Queensland basket before their trial had to stop.

Victoria surging ahead in second doses. Looks like Victoria will be as little as 10 days behind NSW 80% for its 80%. Game over down south in 3 weeks.

Queensland nowhere in bloody sight. Game over up here in 2022 it seems.

They need to. I don't think they'll tip over 2,000 during the weekend due lower testing numbers, but next week I wouldn't be surprised to see 2,000-2,250 new cases a day.

And remember kiddies, Cases are baaaaad, mmkay? :ugh:

Here's a nice pretty graphic (yes, it's from The Guardian, but base data is apparently State Health Dept figures) that gives a nice visual representation as to how the various states are tracking. Of course, the multi-billion-dollar question is "What good are target dates if the Premiers don't give a fig about them anyway?!?"
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....611b831215.jpg

Sydney will explode next week (case rate being shown the week after) too. Everyone finally gets their freedom and hopefully the anti vaxxers don't flood the hospitals like in the US.

As the vaccine doesn’t work on approximately 2-3% of people they may need hospital beds for those vaccinated, assuming 6 million people that’s 120,000 to 180,000 extra beds needed for the next 12 months or less , MELBOURNE the same .
So I’d assume borders to close fairly early in the new Year .

As soon as NSW and Victoria explode, you can forget any hope of WA borders coming down, Mark McGowan had stated clearly he is waiting to see what happens on the Eastern States.

That would be 7600 equivalent Australia wide.

“Explode!” Very dramatic.

Actually a change in tone this week, the WA Health Minister spoke about how masks will be reintroduced prior to reopening borders and flagged capacity limits. Also stated that reopening will be towards the end of the year (not next year) in line with other currently Covid Zero states, and warning unvaccinated they’ll face restrictions once reopening.

All of this talk to start shifting the mindset of the population to get used to a “living with Covid” mindset rather than a zero one, and it’s the type of talk that is required now.

Thats assuming a nice even distribution of cases. Which given the size of our country is highly unlikely.

Even the difference between Vic and NSW right now isn’t close to what you are suggesting.

The USA had peaks in different states at different times.

The UK had waves move through different regions as well.

So did China.

I could go on…

Yes don’t worry, I’ve noticed all the experts are out already peddling the doom and gloom that is about to befall NSW cause the new Premier has brought forward some easing of rules.

Same doom and gloom was pushed in the UK right before they eased up (at a much lower vaccination rate too!!). But low and behold, the worst didn’t happen and life resumed.

Australia will open eventually. WA will get cases again. You’re living in a dream land if you think WA can hide forever. Eventually the virus will get in, so you’re all better off getting vaccinated and opening up.

Watch the tune of Sandgropers start to change once they see New South Welshmen and Victorians travelling overseas.

If only Chairman MaoGowan had spent the last 18 months bolstering his faltering health system instead of playing border politics he might not be in this position where he is damned if he does and damned if he doesn’t. Same goes for Palacechook and her work experience child deputy premier up north.

In Singapore, the experience has been that +98% of COVID cases have little or no symptoms, 1% need oxygen and 0.2% in the ICU. Most of those needing oxygen or ICU are over 60 years old. Almost all deaths have been unvaccinated senior citizens with underlying health problems.

As of yesterday 83% of the population are vaccinated, booster shots are being offered to those who were jabbed 6+ months ago.

What was the primary vaccine and are they using the same manufacturer's product for the booster?

The primary was Pfizer-Biontech and all three jabs I had were the same brand. As of yesterday, 98.4% of those infected have little or no symptoms, probably because there are so few unvaccinated people left to become ill and drag the average down if they catch the virus.

1.3% need oxygen, 0.1% ICU and 0.2% have died. 83% of the population are fully vaccinated with 85% having had at least one dose. New cases 3700 yesterday.

I hope the Australian government is watching Singapore's experience carefully. Daily case numbers rocketed over the last month, however the numbers in hospital on oxygen or in the ICU increased at a far lower rate and was easily manageable.

But only in and out of the East Coast it seems...

Westyrannical Australia appears to be quite happy to stay in their Covid-Zero bubble.

Then there's Of course, then there's this pearler:
Nothing like being able to fly home from Paris, but not continue on to Perth... :ugh:

This guy must really dislike his own family in NSW. Guess he doesn’t want them coming to Xmas in Rocko! They can FaceTime him from Singapore, it’s the same time zone at least :}

McClown now has the worlds longest Covid (rabbit) proof fence, the idiot is welcome to it!

The price you pay for being virtually unaffected for the last 18 months.

I sincerely hope if a positive person finds themselves on say, a ML-SY flight next month once borders are open, the entire manifest and crew does not need to isolate for a fortnight.

I see a Virgin flight today, one kid positive, everyone into isolation at a medi hotel.

Going to be positive kids on all flights shortly as they don’t have a vax approved yet.

Actually you might have some reason to be hopeful, the Health Minister this week indicated reopening would be, like all other states, around “end of the year”. We know the Covid chief has been given a Dec 31 deadline, the mining industry has been mandated and remote indigenous communities will preparing to be be separately isolated whilst the rest of the state is open. That was a concern that the entire state would be isolated while remote community vax rates remained low but now it seems they’ll independently isolated whilst the rest of the state is open. We know the WA first doses plus forward bookings are over 80% and pretty much all get one dose get two, and as the need for vaccines in NSW is decreased this can be redistributed elsewhere. I believed they’ve bought bookings forward which has also bought the projected 80% date forward too.

Seems to be a change in tone, with the government now taking about mask mandates and capacity restrictions in order to change the mindset of population. My personal thought is a hustle to get vaccinated pre Christmas and a reopening close to it, and I think they’ll be very close to when Qld, SA, Tas and NT open, a matter of a few weeks at most.

isolation rules are no longer 14 days

primary close contact in Victoria is still 14 days.

Im guessing home quarantine after an international inbound flight will only be available if you are in driving distance of an international airport like SYD or MEL. I live in Tas so does that mean I still need to pay for hotel quarantine where I land and then additional home quarantine once I get back to Tas?

The SA Premier: "I reckon our borders will be open by Christmas, so everyone can have family over!" :ok:
The SA Health CEO: "Aaaahhh...no...":=What is it with these McGowan blokes and their border policies? Are they bloody brothers or something?!? So what's that about following the "Health Advice" there, Premier?

Health officials need to take a back seat now, those people’s time in the spotlight is over, this is where the Premiers need to grow a pair and start taking control. The old witch up north still runs rings around our so called leader. She needs to be sacked.

Dr Chant must feel like a third wheel now. It’s Dom’s show now. I would expect her resignation fairly soon.

Great to see someone taking control.

Even before the SA CHO's comments today Steven Marshall had said he would wait until vaccination rates were even across all SA Local Government Areas before easing border restrictions. Some LGAs in SA, in the Northern suburbs of Adelaide and rural areas primarily, are running about 20% behind the state average. So the Premier has a good excuse himself to not open up when the overall state average hits 80%.

Tasmania said they'd be aiming for 90% vaccinated, and the NT Chief Minister wants more than 80% to protect the territory's indigenous population. So they're all including little caveats to not open up if they deem that so.

What I think they're waiting for is NSW to be the canary in the coalmine and see how they do over the next 6 weeks. If hospitals aren't overwhelmed it'll bode well for reopening. If NSW hospitals are overwhelmed then the other states have a get out of jail card that wouldn't have had they set a firm reopening date.

The only state I see holding out closures past Christmas will be WA. I can't see a reason for the East coast to remain closed, which is how much of the populace will see it. That will make it hard for any premier to keep shut and prevent dissent. McGowan is still riding on his electoral mandate, forget about WA. They will stay shut for a while yet.

Melbourne the weather has been good lately, everyone down the beach and in parks. Reminds me of the old Sunday trading rules with people out and about but shops and pubs closed. The lockdown is really only in name now, people are doing mostly what they want. I hear cars racing, doing burnouts at night as usual well past curfew. If the police are policing it they are not doing much. This is probably why the numbers are jumping up.

As the rest of the world has shown, it's not about the number of infections once you move on from lockdowns and isolation. But rather the number of hospital admissions and serious illness/ deaths. Once you open up, the number of Covid-19 positive cases is no longer strictly relevant. We are probably all going to brush up against this virus in the next couple of years. Get vaccinated and stay healthy to ensure the best personal outcome from the inevitable contact.

Is anyone else asking the question of how does NSW decision to open on Nov 1st work in a practical sense. Presumably returning Australians can come home without a need to quarantine. What happens when 10,000 returning Australians return to Sydney and none of them live in NSW.

They'll spend a lot of money in NSW, for which we New South Welshmen will thank them!

NSW back to normal - November 1
 

And there we have it folks. Quarantine-free international travel into and out of NSW from the 1st of November (2021 for the nay-sayers who would say it's not Nov 1 this year :}).

Looks like you can go from Sydney to Paris before you can go to Perth. Or Brussels before you can go to Brisbane. Or Milan before you can go to Melbourne.

What a great C(o?)untry we live in.

Too bad The Dom isn't going to ban outrightunvaccinated travellers. Let other states deal with them and the risk for a change! :mad:

Also find it bizarre that Scomo said one thing but NSW said another.

Maybe they will rent an air bnb or go to a reasonably priced hotel. I don't think you have to prove you are a resident in NSW.

WA and rest of the country are in lockdown, they just don’t realize it yet!

No. Just happy to see some common sense approaches finally. Now The Chairman and The Chook need to follow suit in the next few weeks and we can get on with it finally. Even WA will follow soon enough.

All the scaremongers and nay sayers will have to find another topic to bleat about!