Opening of international borders

[Parley]

2 hours ago, rammygirl said:

I agree. Just wish Australia could manage to vaccinate as efficiently. Mind you seems to be making progress at last.
 

Nothing stopping getting you getting vaccinated with AZ if you want it. Plenty of options for you.

[Parley]

1 hour ago, JetBlast said:

Flow this through and they will notify you when they are ready for you. 
 

https://covid-vaccine.healthdirect.gov.au/eligibility

Not sure why anyone would need to be notified. It is communicated in every media outlet every day who is eligible and what to do.

You can't really plead ignorance.

Just make an appointment or walk up to a mass vaccination site if you don't mind a long wait.

[Marisawright]

3 hours ago, JetBlast said:

Flow this through and they will notify you when they are ready for you. 
 

https://covid-vaccine.healthdirect.gov.au/eligibility

Hardly worth it as it’s exactly the same info as is on the news every day. 

Ive already got my first jab

[Parley]

Must admit I'm wavering. I've always been waiting until they open Pfizer up to everyone, which I'm sure they will do in the next month or two to entice the recalcitrant over 50s like me.

But if they don't I will have to take the risk and go with AZ

[newjez]

19 hours ago, Jon the Hat said:

That isn't how it works, one case would only infect people they spend time right next to, maybe 4-8 people.  This has been prove in test events in the UK in the past couple of weeks - 10k people in a stadium, 2k in a club, etc with very few cases.

It does seem that the virus needs a certain amount of concentration to infect. Outside it is much less likely to catch it.

[Marisawright]

1 hour ago, Parley said:

Must admit I'm wavering. I've always been waiting until they open Pfizer up to everyone, which I'm sure they will do in the next month or two to entice the recalcitrant over 50s like me.

I've already had the AZ (before the outbreak), which meant I walked into the mass vaccination site and the queue was so short, I didn't even get a chance to sit down!  

Personally, I felt more outbreaks were inevitable so I felt waiting most of the winter for the Pfizer was taking too much of a chance.  I still think so, even more so, now we're seeing the phone system crashing for the Pfizer appointments.  Pfizer will never be offered on a walk-in basis because the storage requirements mean they have to plan them more carefully - so it's never going to be the case that you can just dash out and get the Pfizer if there's a  big outbreak.

Edited May 29, 2021 by Marisawright

[newjez]

1 hour ago, Parley said:

Must admit I'm wavering. I've always been waiting until they open Pfizer up to everyone, which I'm sure they will do in the next month or two to entice the recalcitrant over 50s like me.

But if they don't I will have to take the risk and go with AZ

My parents have just had their jab. No issues.

You could buy a lottery ticket on the way to the jab and be comforted by the fact as you have about the same chance to win the lottery as you do to have complications.

Especially if you have the virus down there. It takes a few weeks for the Vax to become effective.

Edited May 29, 2021 by newjez

[newjez]

It does worry me how much of this vaccine paranoia is being stoked by the big vaccine companies? Becoming a standard covid vaccine would be very profitable for these companies. I wonder whether they are deliberately trying to derail the opposition.

[Tulip1]

2 hours ago, Parley said:

Must admit I'm wavering. I've always been waiting until they open Pfizer up to everyone, which I'm sure they will do in the next month or two to entice the recalcitrant over 50s like me.

But if they don't I will have to take the risk and go with AZ

Only a decision you can make.  The first dose of vaccine only gives 33% of protection (after 21 days) against the Indian variant which now seems to be the dominant one. A one in three chance of not getting an illness is much better than nothing but the important thing is you can’t get the best protection until 10 days after your second jab which is 8 weeks after the first.  After the second one the protection is even higher than the percentages quoted as if you were unlucky enough to succumb to Covid you will get a far less serious illness and far less likely to require hospitalisation. So those getting jabbed today have no protection for 3 weeks and won’t have full protection for around 10 weeks minimum. It’s a big delay if it all kicks off and as Marisa says, it’s inevitable this latest outbreak won’t be the last.  It is a hard decision for those in Australia and I completely understand that.  Our hotspots here are areas of poor uptake of the vaccine. In Bolton hospital there are 49 people with Covid and 44 of them do not have full vaccine protection.  Sad really as they have all been eligible but chose not to bother.  That’s the risk you take. Unvaccinated people end up in hospital and die.  We’ve had an average of 8 deaths a day over the last 7 days and almost all of those were unvaccinated people. It’s a shame that people are dying because they didn’t bother to get vaccinated and that will happen there if things get bad and people have made that same choice. Still a hard choice for you over there though with such low numbers, I really do get that. 

[Parley]

1 hour ago, Marisawright said:

I've already had the AZ (before the outbreak), which meant I walked into the mass vaccination site and the queue was so short, I didn't even get a chance to sit down!  

Personally, I felt more outbreaks were inevitable so I felt waiting most of the winter for the Pfizer was taking too much of a chance.  I still think so, even more so, now we're seeing the phone system crashing for the Pfizer appointments.  Pfizer will never be offered on a walk-in basis because the storage requirements mean they have to plan them more carefully - so it's never going to be the case that you can just dash out and get the Pfizer if there's a  big outbreak.

I believe they have now said pfizer is okay in a normal fridge for up to a month.

They keep changing their minds on these things which is annoying.

They now say you can cut the gap between AZ doses and don't worry about the gap between flu and covid injections.

They are making it up as they go.

Edited May 29, 2021 by Parley

[LindaH27]

As we’ve seen in UK and around the world those “low numbers” very very quickly become high numbers! 

A wait and see attitude about getting vaccinated is fine as everybody has their own opinion and vaccination is not compulsory but it obviously comes with the proviso (as Tulip said ) that you have to spend a few weeks with minimal protection. Maximum protection doesn’t comes until two weeks after your second jab. 
So it’s probably better to get it earlier rather than later when case numbers have increased 

 

Edited May 29, 2021 by LindaH27

[Marisawright]

1 minute ago, Parley said:

 

They keep changing their minds on these things which is annoying.

They now say you can cut the gap between AZ doses and don't worry about the gap between flu and covid injections.

They are making it up as they go.

Not so much making it up, as revising their original advice (based on theory) now they’re seeing how it’s working in real life. 

However I thought it was the Brits who were cutting the gap between AZ jabs because for them, it’s more important to get everyone vaccinated than to give each person the optimum protection ( which they think is still 12 weeks). Would be interested to know if that’s changed 

[LindaH27]

19 minutes ago, Marisawright said:

Not so much making it up, as revising their original advice (based on theory) now they’re seeing how it’s working in real life. 

However I thought it was the Brits who were cutting the gap between AZ jabs because for them, it’s more important to get everyone vaccinated than to give each person the optimum protection ( which they think is still 12 weeks). Would be interested to know if that’s changed 

The Brits were the first to change to 12 weeks gap because initially Astra Zeneca and Pfizer were  supposed to be given with a 4 week gap! This was initially done to enable  more people to have that first dose and caused controversy because people were worried about a long wait. 
Surprisingly research then showed that a longer wait  was actually better! Although initially set at 12 weeks further research has shown that a shorter delay,  6-8 weeks, still gives really good protection.
The vaccination program has been very successful in UK and deaths are very low. But then take up has been extremely good and now we are vaccinating younger people and for the first time I’ve seen walk in allowed instead of having to make appointments even in my area which being rural has thankfully had very low numbers. 

The Indian variant is increasing in those areas where there is more deprivation and  more vaccine refusal/hesitancy. If vaccinated you could possibly still get it but you would only get it mildly.  
 

My daughter has had the Moderna vaccine which is now available  in UK as well 

Edited May 29, 2021 by LindaH27

[JetBlast]

4 hours ago, Marisawright said:

Hardly worth it as it’s exactly the same info as is on the news every day. 

Ive already got my first jab

I hardly watch TV. Too many ads...

[NicF]

5 hours ago, Parley said:

Must admit I'm wavering. I've always been waiting until they open Pfizer up to everyone, which I'm sure they will do in the next month or two to entice the recalcitrant over 50s like me.

But if they don't I will have to take the risk and go with AZ

I’d have the AZ jab tomorrow if they would let me but as an under 50 I’m not allowed to have it.

[Parley]

27 minutes ago, NicF said:

I’d have the AZ jab tomorrow if they would let me but as an under 50 I’m not allowed to have it.

You can get the Pfizer which is a superior vaccine

[NicF]

42 minutes ago, Parley said:

You can get the Pfizer which is a superior vaccine

No I can’t.  I’m in SA and they have not opened up vaccinations for under 50s in the Adelaide area yet.

[rammygirl]

21 hours ago, Parley said:

Nothing stopping getting you getting vaccinated with AZ if you want it. Plenty of options for you.

I have had my first vaccine. 

[Bridgeman]

The vaccination rollout is being controlled by the GPs and the capacity they can cope with. Getting vaccinated is not as easy as the government are making out. It's alright opening up the progamme to over 40s in Victoria, but just look what happened.  You need to get all your ducks in a row before you make announcements.  My friend, just under 70, contacted her local medical centre recently, only to he told, oh we can't take your booking as we are still vaccinating 80 year olds.   They also don't like you going to another medical centre.  Another friend tried this and was given short shrift.  Incidentally we don't have large vaccination centres here in Queensland, walk up or otherwise.  

However, I do think that without a high vaccination rate, we are just sitting ducks here in Australia if there is an outbreak that cannot be contained.  Also, getting vaccinated protects not only yourself but helps prevent you spreading it to other people.  It doesn't really make sense to be complaining about borders not opening unless you are willing to get vaccinated as until there is a high level of vaccination, it's unlikely to happen.

[VERYSTORMY]

22 hours ago, newjez said:

It does worry me how much of this vaccine paranoia is being stoked by the big vaccine companies? Becoming a standard covid vaccine would be very profitable for these companies. I wonder whether they are deliberately trying to derail the opposition.

The AZ vaccine is manufactured at a zero profit basis worldwide under terms agreed between the development team at Oxford and the U.K. government and AZ. 

[VERYSTORMY]

I work with Covid in a healthcare setting as a Covid tester. We get a lot of training in all aspects of the virus on an ongoing basis. I currently work in a site that specialises in Symptomatic testing of people in a hotspot for the Indian variant. If you have any questions about the vaccine or testing or covid in general I will do my best to answer them here. 

[MacGyver]

52 minutes ago, Bridgeman said:

The vaccination rollout is being controlled by the GPs and the capacity they can cope with. Getting vaccinated is not as easy as the government are making out. It's alright opening up the progamme to over 40s in Victoria, but just look what happened.  You need to get all your ducks in a row before you make announcements.  My friend, just under 70, contacted her local medical centre recently, only to he told, oh we can't take your booking as we are still vaccinating 80 year olds.   They also don't like you going to another medical centre.  Another friend tried this and was given short shrift.  Incidentally we don't have large vaccination centres here in Queensland, walk up or otherwise.  

However, I do think that without a high vaccination rate, we are just sitting ducks here in Australia if there is an outbreak that cannot be contained.  Also, getting vaccinated protects not only yourself but helps prevent you spreading it to other people.  It doesn't really make sense to be complaining about borders not opening unless you are willing to get vaccinated as until there is a high level of vaccination, it's unlikely to happen.

Agreed - I think the government’s messaging on this could and should be much stronger

[rammygirl]

1 hour ago, Bridgeman said:

The vaccination rollout is being controlled by the GPs and the capacity they can cope with. Getting vaccinated is not as easy as the government are making out. It's alright opening up the progamme to over 40s in Victoria, but just look what happened.  You need to get all your ducks in a row before you make announcements.  My friend, just under 70, contacted her local medical centre recently, only to he told, oh we can't take your booking as we are still vaccinating 80 year olds.   They also don't like you going to another medical centre.  Another friend tried this and was given short shrift.  Incidentally we don't have large vaccination centres here in Queensland, walk up or otherwise.  

However, I do think that without a high vaccination rate, we are just sitting ducks here in Australia if there is an outbreak that cannot be contained.  Also, getting vaccinated protects not only yourself but helps prevent you spreading it to other people.  It doesn't really make sense to be complaining about borders not opening unless you are willing to get vaccinated as until there is a high level of vaccination, it's unlikely to happen.

Our usual clinic didn’t have appointments for months. We went to a different Center who had appointments within a week. No problems we just had to register as new patients and drive the 30 mins. 
I just used the booking site to pick the first appointment available 

[newjez]

1 hour ago, VERYSTORMY said:

The AZ vaccine is manufactured at a zero profit basis worldwide under terms agreed between the development team at Oxford and the U.K. government and AZ. 

Yes, I wasn't accusing AZ of derailing themselves. That would be insane. I was suggesting that other companies could benefit from derailing AZ. You also need to consider that those companies which are offering the vaccine at cost are only doing it for a limited time. This isn't going away. This is a huge cash cow for big pharma.

[newjez]

23 hours ago, Parley said:

I believe they have now said pfizer is okay in a normal fridge for up to a month.

They keep changing their minds on these things which is annoying.

They now say you can cut the gap between AZ doses and don't worry about the gap between flu and covid injections.

They are making it up as they go.

That's unfair parley. This is an emergency situation, and they are learning as they go. Normally all this little changes would be ironed out in testing. But they err on the side of caution and change when the data supports.