NSW Covid vaccine: 10 million jabs to stop restrictions by September
NSW will be given enough doses of Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccine to reach ten million by September - a mark Premier Gladys Berejiklian says is necessary.
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NSW will be given enough doses of Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccine to reach the ten million threshold Premier Gladys Berejiklian says is necessary for the state to be better protected from Covid-19 by September.
From July through to August the state will get between 963,813 to 1.15 million doses of vaccine a week, of which 80 per cent will be the AstraZeneca vaccine for people aged over 60.
This rate would mean there were at least ten million doses available by the end of August, but it would still be up to people to book an appointment and get the vaccine for Ms Berejiklian's benchmark to be reached.
Based on the national vaccine “allocation horizons” released by the federal government on Tuesday, Australia remains on track to have enough supply to give every person a first dose, and the majority a second dose, by the end of 2021.
Ms Berejiklian said on Wednesday the NSW Government had “gone out on a limb” to name 10 million jabs as the threshold for being able to have less restrictions in the event of Covid-19 outbreak, and potentially even reopen borders.
In September the Commonwealth will give NSW state vaccine hubs and GP clinics 622,860 to 957,190 jabs a week, of which more than half would be Pfizer.
This would enable the state to ramp up vaccination of the younger population, as only people aged 40 to 59 are currently eligible to receive Pfizer.
Covid-19 task-force leader Lieutenant General John Frewen said the vaccine allocations would help states and territories plan the rollout for the remainder of the year and was the first of several steps toward greater “transparency” around the program.
“What these figures provide is each of the jurisdictions, the likely minimum amount of doses of each of the available vaccines, and the likely upper range of likely supply that we will receive this is giving the states,” he said.
Lt Gen Frewen said the Commonwealth figures assumed the majority of the population aged over 60 would be vaccinated with AstraZeneca by October, which was why supply of that jab would drop off toward the end of the year.
The unlinked Covid-19 cases from a party, primary school and on a plane are of the most concern to national health officials who have declared Sydney a “hotspot”.
Australia’s Chief Medical Officer Professor Paul Kelly said he has “full faith and confidence” in NSW Health to track, trace and contain the outbreak spreading out from the “epicentre” in Bondi Junction, but he was “worried” about several mystery cases.
“There has up to now, been very strong linkage between the cases, but there has changed over the last 24 hours,” he said.
“NSW is fantastic at their contact tracing, there’s no doubt that.
“They are the best in Australia in that relation.”
But Pfo Kelly said now they were “chasing” unlinked cases it was going to make it “more difficult”.
“I think the school, the plane and the party are three different complex settings so that has changed over the last 24 hours,” he said.
Prof Kelly said NSW was “expert” at responding to outbreaks, and he was confident Sydney would bring this latest cluster under control.
“My heart goes out to everyone in Sydney who particularly might have their school holiday plans disrupted by this but as NSW Health and the Premier said today, it’s very important that everyone takes on-board that (restriction) advice.”
Prof Kelly said the restrictions were not “done lightly” and were the only opportunity NSW had to control the virus.
“NSW has always had a different approach to some other states in relation to this, but they’ve been universally successful up to now, and I have full faith that there will be again.”
BAD NEWS FOR HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY
Tough new Covid-19 restrictions in and around Sydney will wipe out jobs and rock the hospitality industry, which is bracing for a $171 million hit.
The new restrictions, expected to last at least a week, are set to smash businesses in Greater Sydney, the Central Coast, Blue Mountains, Wollongong and Shellharbour.
The hospitality industry estimates that up to $50 million in produce may need to be thrown out due to new restrictions as families are stranded at home as school holidays begin.
Restaurant and Catering Australia CEO Wes Lambert estimates the new rules will cost up to $171 million.
“Restaurants, cafes and caterers are once again on the merry-go-round of Covid restrictions in Greater Sydney,” he said.
“There will be staff stood down, events lost, and bookings cancelled in their thousands.”
Pubs and restaurants are feeling the squeeze, with many in the city left reeling after a return to hospitality restrictions including the one person per four square metres rule, as well as a ban on dancing and drinking while standing.
Chris Deale, a publican at Surry Hills’ Dove and Olive restaurant and bar, said the latest restrictions were a bitter blow on top of the last 18 months of low CBD-foot traffic.
“If you were to look at this week alone, we had five functions booked in – three have already postponed,” he said.
The new rules also ban anyone from seven hotspot council areas from leaving metropolitan Sydney unless for essential reasons.
People in the City of Sydney, Waverley, Randwick, Canada Bay, Inner West, Bayside, and Woollahra local government areas cannot travel outside metropolitan Sydney for non-essential travel.
“We apologise in advance that this has impacts on people’s ability to travel during the school holidays,” Premier Gladys Berejiklian said. “We don’t want the virus to spread into holiday destinations within NSW.”
For south coast communities devastated by bushfires and 18 months of Covid-19, the local lock-in of Sydney-based tourists just a week before school holidays is a heavy blow.
“It seems every time we’re leading into these holiday periods, when the south coast really needs tourism, there’s another flare-up in a major city,” president of the Batemans Bay Business and Tourism Chamber, Mathew Hatcher, said. “It’s just another hit – we’re getting used to it unfortunately.”
Mr Hatcher said he was aware of bookings for restaurants and hotels in the region being cancelled as news filtered out that seven local government areas in Sydney would be restricted.
FROM LIMO DRIVER TO THE WHOLE OF AUSTRALIA
It spread from one limousine driver to cripple the city and destroy the holidays hopes of thousands of Sydneysiders.
As the city masked up again, Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly yesterday declared seven Sydney LGAs as Covid hot spots.
Residents of Waverley, City of Sydney, Woollahra, Bayside, Canada Bay, Inner West and Randwick cannot go outside metropolitanSydney for non-essential travel.
On the eve of the school holidays, Queensland Premier Anastasia Palaszczuk has slammed shut her state’s borders from 1am Thursday to anyone from those seven hot spots and last minute tickets to the Sunshine State sold out within hours as travellers desperately tried to change flights and beat the deadline.
Victoria and Tasmania followed suit while Western Australia has blocked all NSW residents while NSW travellers cannot enter South Australia unless they are returning South Australians or have a genuine reason. The Northern Territory has also imposed restrictions.
In central Sydney itself, the limo driver has become the $171 million-dollar man as the cost of the cafe disruptions alone caused by the latest restrictions bite.
It is back to the future across Greater Sydney, the Central Coast, Blue Mountains, Wollongong and Shellharbour with the one person per square metre rule reintroduced for weddings and funerals, from Wednesday at 4pm for a week. A bridal party of 20 can dance at weddings but dancing is banned again at indoor hospitality venues and nightclubs.
Among the other restrictions, visitors to households are capped at five, including children and masks are compulsory in all indoor non-residential settings, including workplaces, and at organised outdoor events.
The green dots are back on public transport to indicate capacity limits.
At Central Station, Chelsie Collard, 21, was one of the many passengers quick to pull on a mask. “I think people are used to defaulting back to the restrictions,” she said.
The clampdown follows 16 new cases announced on Wednesday, including 13 which will be included in Thursday’s official update. Worryingly the source of four of those 13 cases is still unknown but all live or work in south eastern Sydney. They bring this latest cluster to 31.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian urged people to “please abandon non-essential activities,” and suggested the state government would impose further restrictions if they are required.
“We do not want mingling,” she said
It is the lightning speed of the latest spread that has health authorities worried with it transmitted by fleeting passes since NSW Health announced on the afternoon of June 16 that it had returned with a vengeance.
The limo driver tested positive on June 15 but authorities said he may have been infectious from June 11 as testing showed he had the Delta variant, first identified in India. Like the security guards who last year sparked one of Victoria’s lockdowns by not following protocol, the driver was a secondary employee and his employer is being investigated as to whether they imposed checks.
Later that night, the driver’s wife was confirmed as the second case.
Health alerts followed the couple across the eastern suburbs and North Ryde where they visited venues including Bondi Junction’s busy Westfield shopping centre and the Belle Cafe in Vaucluse where they passed it on to a woman in her 70s.
Then there was a man in his 30s who lives in the Sydney CBD but had attended Westfield Bondi Junction but who had also spent time in the Wollongong area and a household contact of his.
It spread to the Sutherland Shire with two close contacts of previously confirmed cases as a fruit grocer in inner west Sydney‘s Leichhardt joined the list of venues on alert as the states Covid ace Detective tracers viewed CCTV footage showing exposure between positive cases.
As queues lengthened at testing sites in the eastern suburbs, St Charles Waverley Catholic School was fumigated and all students in year 3 tested after an infected girl went to class.
All from one man, the limousine driver.
CELEBRITY JABS: WHO’S VACCINATED AND WHO THEY GOT
Aussie stars along with some of Hollywood’s biggest names have flocked to get their Covid jabs, encouraging fans to get vaccinated and, as Naomi Watts declared, “Getting back to biz.”
HUGH JACKMAN
“Wolverine’s healing ability can’t save me from Covid. But the vaccine can. Get it!” Jackman wrote alongside two selfies from his New York City appointment. The Aussie star didn’t specify which vaccine he received.
DAVID CAMPBELL
TV presenter David Campbell was one of the first Aussie celebs to roll his sleeve up for the Pfizer vaccine once it became available to Australians aged between 40 and 50. The son of Jimmy Barnes was thrilled to get jabbed but said he experienced major side effects after his second dose that left him feeling “hollowed-out emotionally.
Pfizer Pfriday. 2nd shot!!! #GetVaccinatedpic.twitter.com/TkR1ne9e09
— David Campbell OAM (@DavidCampbell73) June 18, 2021
Meanwhile, Campbell’s father, rock legend and world traveller Jimmy Barnes got his Astra-Zeneca shot alongside wife Jane back in April. “Didn’t feel a thing and so far so good,” he posted. “Be safe.”
NAOMI WATTS
Aussie star Naomi Watts was pumped to get her second dose and hailed it as a return to some kind of normality. “Love the shot, love the science,” the masked beauty posted. “Here’s to getting back to biz.”
CARRIE BICKMORE AND PETER HELLIAR
Ten stars Carrie Bickmore and Peter Helliar are such good mates, they even went on a joint vaccine outing to Melbourne’s Exhibition Centre to get their Pfizer vaccines in the midst of the city’s recent Covid-19 outbreak. The TV presenters flashed the V sign as they waited the required 15 minutes after their jab before leaving the mass vaccination hub.
MAGGIE BEER
Everyone’s favourite celebrity chef, Maggie Beer, proudly posted her vaccine selfie after getting the jab, alluding to the vaccine hesitancy that has marred Australia’s rollout. The ever-smiling Beer remarked that it was a “pin prick without a moment’s hesitation”. Celebrity landscaper Paul Bangay congratulated her, saying it was “our only way out of this mess”.
PRINCE WILLIAM
The Duke of Cambridge had royal fans commenting on his muscular arms when he rolled his sleeves up for his first dose of the vaccine. Prince William thanked frontline workers working on the rollout “for everything you’ve done and continue to do”. The future king declined to say which jab he received.
On Tuesday I received my first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
— The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (@KensingtonRoyal) May 20, 2021
To all those working on the vaccine rollout - thank you for everything you’ve done and continue to do. pic.twitter.com/8QP6ao5fEb
THE DUCHESS OF CAMBRIDGE
Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, got her shot at the same vaccination hub, at London’s science Museum, in Kensington, days later.
Yesterday I received my first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at London’s Science Museum. I’m hugely grateful to everyone who is playing a part in the rollout - thank you for everything you are doing. pic.twitter.com/h427iT0n4x
— The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (@KensingtonRoyal) May 29, 2021
JENNIFER ANISTON
The Friends legend said via a May Instagram post that she was fully vaccinated, too.
“We are extremely lucky and privileged to have access to Covid-19 vaccines in the US right now. Unfortunately, that’s not the case everywhere … and as we know, the health of one of us affects all of us,” Aniston wrote.
“Thinking about those who do not or will not have the opportunity to get vaccinated and hug their friends and family.”
RYAN REYNOLDS
The Deadpool star made a joke when getting his vaccine. “Finally got 5G,” he wrote via Instagram.
JOE JONAS & SOPHIE TURNER
The pop star and former Game of Thrones favourite posted a bathroom selfie together after getting their jabs. “Let’s (NOT) Get It!” Jonas joked.
JULIA LOUIS-DREYFUS
The Veep star kept it short after receiving her vaccine at a drive-through site in Los Angeles.
“Fully jabbed! Fully grateful!”
BRITNEY SPEARS
The star promised fans the shot didn’t hurt after getting hers in early April. “Great success!” she wrote.
JESSICA ALBA AND CASH WARREN
Actor and entrepreneur Jessica Alba and her husband, Cash Warren, showed off their vaccination cards on Instagram with Alba captioning the masked up selfie, “Mom and dad are vaxxed.”
I feel very lucky to have had the vaccine. I would have no hesitation in recommending it to anyone. https://t.co/gBLRR0OeJc
— Ian McKellen (@IanMcKellen) December 17, 2020
SIR IAN McKELLEN
The Lord of the Rings star said he wanted to give Britain’s National Health Service workers “a big hug” after receiving his Pfizer vaccine. He also encouraged others to get vaccinated.
“I would encourage everybody to do the sensible thing, not just for themselves but for everybody else because if you’re virus-free that helps everybody else, doesn’t it?”
Today was a good day. I have never been happier to wait in a line. If you’re eligible, join me and sign up to get your vaccine. Come with me if you want to live! pic.twitter.com/xJi86qQNcm
— Arnold (@Schwarzenegger) January 20, 2021
ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER
Even the Terminator needs to get vaccinated. Schwarzenegger waited in line at Los Angeles’ Dodger Stadium for his first dose of the vaccine, making sure to quote his iconic character afterwards.
DOLLY PARTON
The legendary singer got “a dose of her own medicine,” when receiving her vaccine in Tennessee. In 2020 the country star donated more than $1 million to fund Moderna research toward a COVID-19 vaccine. She posted a video of her vaccination to Instagram, telling fans, “I’m old enough to get it. And I’m smart enough to get it. So I’m very happy that I’m going to get my Moderna shot today. And I want to tell everybody that you should get out there and do it too.
JOAN COLLINS
Former Dynasty star, Joan Collins, took to Instagram to share that she received the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. “It was the easiest thing. Just like a little scratch and there was no pain at all,” she told Good Morning Britain. “And I had no after-effects and I felt absolutely fine. I went home and I had a drink, even.”
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