I canât see cases dropping as restrictions are lifted.
The evidence from Israel and US is despite high vaccination - cases keep going up. thats also in countries that have high natural immunity too. Australia does not have that.
I expect cases to keep rising - but vaccines will have a noticeable effect on hospitals and deaths. But again that might be offset by increasing cases.
I feel NSW could see up to 10,000 cases a day in the months ahead
I find it hard to believe that there will be an election when two states are under stay at home orders
Professor Tony Blakely said it made sense to keep borders closed while young children remain unvaccinated.
âIf I was the WA premier or the South Australian premier, Iâd be keeping the virus out for as long as possible,â Professor Blakely told Today.
"Having the children from five to 16 unvaccinated creates a reservoir where the virus just takes off.
âIf you have the luxury of that opportunity before the virus gets in and the TGA and ATAGI approve it, I would be doing that if I was a premier.â
https://twitter.com/couriermail/status/1433197640267689985?s=20
Australians aged over 60 are being urged to get the AstraZeneca vaccine now or end up at the back of the queue when Pfizer supply ramps up.
A new wave of Pfizer jabs is expected to arrive in October, but the supply will be prioritised for the 9.8 million people aged between 12 and 39.
Vaccine holdouts over 60 will be forced to wait until as long as Christmas if they shun the Australian-made AstraZeneca vaccine, which has proven to have high efficacy against Covid-19.
I think the actual problem is each state has unique circumstances. NSW is a very international business state and wants to open up as soon as it can. WA relies on mining. NT has remote Aboriginal populations and a very formidable wet season approaching which will slow its rollout.
Queensland has 1 community case of COVID-19, with a Gold Coast truck driver testing positive.
Unique circumstances or not, weâve been told that all states and territories âagreedâ to the plan and now are seemingly winding back that agreement. Thats fine, but they need to explain their reasoning for why so that people can adjust their expectations.
There is also a real potential for jurisdictions to game the system by not encouraging people to get vaccinated quickly (especially where there is a much lower risk due to other measures in place) - we should be encouraging everyone to get vaccinated now (if they havenât already)
I dont think itâs excessive that people are looking towards Government for a plan for the way out and I get that its tough to establish such a plan but signing up for a plan and then seemingly abandoning it unexplained before getting to the start line isnât a great look.
People are looking at Government for leadership and a way to âget out of the caveâ - its really not that much to ask for
Queensland Health Minister Yvette DâAth said the school campus was closed after it appeared a family of five returned to Queensland from Melbourne. She told parliament early indications were the family evaded detection by travelling to the Gold Coast via an inland route, and is refusing to be tested and not co-operating with health authorities.
A new COVID-19 strain has been designated a variant of interest by the World Health Organisation.
Mu, or B.1.621, was first identified in Colombia and cases have been recorded in South America and Europe.
The WHOâs weekly bulletin on the pandemic says the variant has mutations suggesting it could be more resistant to vaccines, as was the case with Beta, but that more studies would be needed to examine this further.
The national plan is dead. I predict it will be Gladys as the first to go rogue, and open up when her state gets to 70%, the PM and Josh Frydenberg will support her. Then they wonât have any authority to demand other states remain committed to the plan against their will. Someone will do a ceremonious ripping up of the document and throwing the confetti into the wind.
The Queensland government is refusing to give an exemption to allow a three-year-old boy back into the state after he got stranded in lockdown NSW without his parents while on holiday with his grandparents
Just draft him into the AFL and heâll be waved right on throughâŚ
Last ditch effort before AZ supplies are phased out come December and those 60+ can just walk-up to get Pfizer or Moderna at that point, although youâd hope the growing death toll out of NSW is motivation enough for those of this cohort that arenât vaxxed yet to go grab AZ now.
Pfizer is likely to be the first vaccine approved for children. I think in December it would be better to build a stockpile of Pfizer to quickly administer to kids as a priority before giving it to fussy 60+âs.
The TGA said 19 million vaccine doses have been given in Australia, and the benefits of vaccination far outweigh any potential risks.
Nine deaths have been linked to the AstraZeneca vaccine in Australia, with around 9.6 million AstraZeneca doses administered.
So whatâs the go with this? Run to the media before applying for appropriate exemption or another Queensland snafu?
Another Queensland snafu I think.
QLD CHO Jeannette Young said in the QLD covid update today that the family had not lodged an exemption request. She said they heard about the issue and of course he was granted an exception. âWe have to be asked to be given an exemption.â
See 9:40
What would happen if the federal government decided to open its international borders? What powers do the state governments have then?
I wonder if itâs a bit of both - From the Courier-Mail:
Memphisâ mum Dominique Facer fired back at those claims, saying she had applied for an exemption despite being told over the phone ânot to botherâ applying.
âIâve put forward an exemption, whether they have received it or not, it has come up that I applied for an exemption and it was waiting to be reviewed,â Ms Facer said.
âEvery time we contacted Queensland Health in regards to getting him home they said itâs not on compassionate grounds because he is with grandparents in New South Wales.â
âThey basically said because the hotel quarantine was closed I was wasting my time, they werenât going to approve an exemption.â
There is something odd about the whole story - the border has been shut for some time, why is it only coming to light now?