One new virus case as Victorians face even longer wait for jab amid new AstraZeneca advice
Major roads are gridlocked with relieved Melburnians making the most of the lifted travel ban to head to regional areas for the weekend.
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Melburnians have embraced their first day of freedom from lockdown 4.0, packing gyms and cinemas as restrictions on outdoor masks and 25km travel limits were scrapped.
Thousands of motorists packed the car and hit the road on Friday night in a bid to shake off the lockdown fatigue and escape to the regions for a weekend getaway.
The mass exodus brought gridlock back to some of Melbourne’s major freeways which have laid predominantly bare for the past few weeks.
It comes as Victoria recorded one new community coronavirus case in the past 24 hours, with the Acting Premier saying the numbers provided Victorians with “cautious confidence”.
The positive case was identified as a member of the same household of an existing positive case at the Southbank townhouse complex, meaning there are no new exposure sites.
It brings the total number of cases in that outbreak to nine.
MERLINO DEFENDS SUTTON TRIP
Acting Premier James Merlino has defended Brett Sutton’s flight to Canberra this week.
Victoria’s chief health officer flew to Canberra on Wednesday for a work-related dinner and awards event for the National Health and Medical Research Council, of which he is a member.
“This was a work-related event and the federal health minister (Greg Hunt) was asked this question and gave a similar answer,” Mr Merlino said.
“It is an appropriate work-related event for our Chief Health Officer within the rules that all Victorians abide by and I think it was appropriate.”
VICTORIA CANNOT MEET VACCINATION DEMAND: MERLINO
The new advice on AstraZeneca, with Australians under 50s told to opt for Pfizer, is a setback to Victoria’s vaccine rollout Mr Merlino said.
Mr Merlino said the announcement would dent public confidence as Australia started “falling behind” in the vaccination race.
“This is a race and as a nation we’re falling behind. That is the reality,” Mr Merlino said.
“We don’t have, from the Commonwealth, sufficient numbers of vaccines for second doses to match the demand for first doses.”
“There is no national campaign to increase public (vaccine) uptake.
“Why is that? Is it because the Commonwealth does not have confidence that they have got supplies of vaccines to match what will be an increase in demand?”
Mr Merlino said the federal government had had over a year to address global supply chain problems and had failed.
“We simply cannot meet the demand that is out there.”
FALL IN VAX RATES TIPPED AFTER ASTRAZENECA ADVICE
Experts are expecting a temporary fall in vaccinations as Aussies cancel their Covid-19 appointments in the wake of new health advice.
The AstraZeneca vaccine is no longer recommended for people aged 50-59 prompting a new wave of vaccine hesitancy.
Health Minister Greg Hunt said inoculation rates were expected to fall among that cohort.
“There is, of course, the opportunity that within the 50-59 bracket there may be many
people who might not have taken the AstraZeneca, who will come forward for the Pfizer (vaccine),” Mr Hunt said.
A new Medicare item was unveiled for people aged over 50 to get the Pfizer vaccine at their GP.
He also applauded Victoria for announcing it would convert AstraZeneca bookings to Pfizer bookings, when the spaces became available.
COVID-19 Taskforce Commander, Lieutenant General John Frewen, urged people aged 50-59 to be patient in the coming weeks as officials boosted the availability of Pfizer vaccines.
Scott Morrison, who is quarantining after returning from the G7, was on Friday briefed on the latest advice that AstraZeneca is no longer recommended for people aged 50-59.
The Prime Minister reinforced that Australians that have already had one dose of AstraZeneca must get their second, according to Mr Hunt.
“It will protect you and it will help protect those around you and it will help protect the country,” Mr Hunt said on his behalf.
“The Prime Minister noted, from his involvement in the G7 plus meetings, there is a strong focus in Europe on hospitalisation for critical cases.
“His observation is that perhaps we haven’t done that enough in Australia.
“So I will say that we have one person in ICU in Australia with Covid.
“They are not on ventilation … it’s a returning traveller of middle-age.”
— JADE GAILBERGER
NO NEW EXPOSURE SITES
There are no new exposure sites linked to the cluster, which Acting Premier James Merlino said was a “great outcome”.
“Excellent progress is being made across all the outbreak areas with huge testing numbers, more than 35,000 yesterday and I want to thank all Victorians, that is a very good number and we want to keep those testing numbers up as high as we can,” he said.
“This gives us cautious confidence as we ease restrictions safely across the state from today.”
A total of 35,252 tests were received yesterday and one further positive case was detected in hotel quarantine, while 16,710 vaccines were administered.
Testing commander Jereon Weimar said of the 199 residents in the Kings Park Southbank complex, 137 had tested negative and 19 of the residents living in proximity to the positive cases had tested negative so far.
He said they were also seeing “a really good set of negative results” in staff identified as close contacts of the nurse from Epping Private Hospital.
Of the nurse’s 30 close contacts currently in quarantine, 24 had returned negative results.
Merlino said while Friday was a “good day” for Victoria, the unfolding situation in NSW was a “sobering reminder” that the virus remained within the country.
Woollahra, Waverley and City of Sydney government areas are now designated as orange zones and anyone travelling in those areas is required to get tested and isolate.
SHOCKING TRUTH OF VICTORIA’S UNPAID COVID FINES
Three quarters of Victorians issued fines for breaching the state’s tough Covid-19 rules are still yet to pay, police have revealed.
New crime figures from the Crime Statistics Agency showed 37,939 fines were handed out over the past 12 months for breaches of the chief health officer’s directions up to the end of March this year.
But Victoria Police deputy commissioner Rick Nugent said only 25 per cent of the fines had so far been paid.
At a minimum amount of $1652, that equates to more than $41 million in unpaid penalties.
Another 2000 fines were reviewed by police and withdrawn, while a further 2000 people elected to have their matter determined by a court.
VICTORIANS FACE LONGER WAIT FOR JAB AFTER ASTRAZENECA ADVICE
Victorians aged 40-59 seeking to book their first jab face waits of several weeks because the Covid-19 vaccination rollout has hit another hurdle.
Under new health advice, 2.1 million Australians in their 50s yet to be jabbed are now being told they should not have AstraZeneca.
Seven new cases of an extremely rare blood clot in AstraZeneca recipients in their 50s have prompted an expert immunisation panel to instead recommend the Pfizer shot for those aged 40-59, who are now eligible for a shot.
The shock move is expected to slow the rollout for several weeks, with Pfizer supplies significantly stretched, especially in Victoria.
Testing Commander Jeroen Weimar said at Friday’s press conference that a decrease in supply from the Commonwealth would halt progress, but would be managed.
“We are stepping down to 80,000 doses of Pfizer a week from the beginning of July. With more people being guided towards Pfizer — the 50-59-year-old age group — there is more contention for a limited supply of Pfizer,” Mr Weimar said.
“That presents problems and particularly for us in Victoria, where we are keen to get
vaccinated, that gives us a constraint.
“It’s a set back for the program in that we now have more people to vaccinate with a limited supply of Pfizer. Our colleagues in the Commonwealth are indicating there will be more Pfizer available towards the last quarter of the year. I am hearing indications there may be more Pfizer available in September and possibly in August.
“If Pfizer is available through the GPs and clinics, we can pick up the pace.”
It comes as the condition of one of the state’s Covid patients deteriorated to the point they’ve been admitted to intensive care.
The state’s health department confirmed a patient had been transferred to intensive care on Thursday — the first time a positive case had been in ICU since May 27.
There are six other Covid-19 patients in hospital receiving care, the health department said.
Medical chiefs are still urging the 840,000 people in their 50s who have already had one AstraZeneca shot to return for their second dose, with UK data suggesting just one in every 666,666 people had a clot after the follow-up jab.
But doctors were reporting on Thursday that they were already getting cancellation calls.
Of 3.8 million AstraZeneca doses administered in Australia so far, there have been 60 clots reported. There are 22 people in hospital and two have died.
Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt acknowledged that while the new advice was a “conservative position” compared to many other countries, it factored in Australia’s low risk of widespread Covid-19 transmission.
“It is a change, and we recognise that that does bring some challenges. But the only thing to do is to follow that medical advice,” he said.
“Are we on track to offer every Australian a vaccine, who is eligible, during the course of 2021? The answer remains, in the advice we have, yes.”
Australia’s vaccine rollout has been plagued with issues, with a delayed launch, an overhaul eight weeks ago limiting AstraZeneca to those under 50 amid clot concerns, and widespread hesitancy.
Critics have slammed the lack of a major national advertising campaign, with only about 3 per cent of the population so far vaccinated.
Victorians spurred to get the jab by the state’s latest outbreak and lockdown have endured hotline meltdowns and waits of up to seven hours at vaccination centres, or been turned away. An online booking system was only launched this week.
Biotech giant CSL will continue pumping out 50 million AstraZeneca doses at its Melbourne factory but said it was open to talks with the government about how it could support the ongoing rollout.
CSL cannot simultaneously manufacture two types of vaccines but it is understood it would be capable of switching to producing the Novavax jab.
Australia has ordered 51 million Novavax doses, with the nation’s drug regulator expected to consider final evidence to approve it for use here in September.
Another 10 million doses of Moderna – an mRNA vaccine like Pfizer – are also expected to arrive this year.
Covid-19 task force commander, Lieutenant-General John Frewen, said the new health advice required a “relatively minor” logistic overhaul which would take a couple of weeks to sort out.
From next month, 1300 GP clinics will begin giving Pfizer to those aged 40 to 59. Mr Hunt said Pfizer had promised to deliver 2.8 million doses in July — up from 1.7 million in June — with 560,000 going to Victoria, including 380,000 to clinics and 180,000 to GPs.
Health Department secretary Professor Brendan Murphy encouraged Australians over 60 to keep getting the AstraZeneca jab, saying it was a “highly effective vaccine”.
He conceded the new advice could raise fears but maintained the community wanted transparency about the risks.
NEW BORDER RULES FOR NSW
Victoria is imposing new Covid-19 restrictions on NSW following an outbreak of the virus.
The Victorian Health Department announced late on Thursday that the chief health officer was assessing the risks of community transmission within NSW.
“(He) has initially designated the NSW local government areas of City of Sydney, Waverley and Woollahra as orange zones under Victoria’s travel permit system,” the department tweeted.
Anyone arriving into Victoria from those areas must obtain an orange zone permit, isolate and get tested upon arrival, and stay isolated until they receive a negative result.
The Chief Health Officer is assessing the public health risks of community transmission within NSW and has initially designated the NSW Local Government Areas of City of Sydney, Waverley and Woollahra as orange zones under Victoria’s travel permit system. [1/6] pic.twitter.com/rALYHgtSRz
— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) June 17, 2021
Those who have arrived into Victoria from June 11 must isolate, get tested and stay isolated until negative.
“The chief health officer strongly advises those planning to travel from Victoria to the City of Sydney, Waverley and Woollahra LGAs to reconsider,” the department warned.
More than 4700 text messages were on Thursday night issued to people who had travelled to Victoria after being in NSW orange zones between June 11 and 16.
An organe zone is deemed a medium risk for Covid transmission under Victoria’s travel permit system.
Victorians considering traveling to Sydney have also been encouraged to rethink their plans following the new coronavirus cases in NSW.
INVESTIGATION INTO BREACH
An investigation has been launched after a Victorian nurse worked at two hospitals while infected with Covid.
The fully vaccinated nurse worked at both the Epping Private Hospital, caring for three positive Arcare residents, and the nearby Northern Hospital last week.
But under Department of Health guidelines, staff working in dedicated Covid-19 wards with positive patients are prohibited from working at more than one site.
The alarming breach was revealed by the state’s Covid-19 response commander Jeroen Weimar, who said he was “exceptionally concerned and disappointed” it had happened. It has forced dozens of the nurse’s colleagues into isolation after they were deemed close contacts.
Mr Weimar said the Health Department would be following up with Epping Private Hospital to seek an explanation on how and why the breach occurred.
The nurse completed two shifts at the Northern Hospital in Epping on June 11 and 12.
As a result, 22 staff at the hospital were identified as close contacts and forced into mandatory 14 days quarantine.
The nurse also attended a vaccination clinic on June 14 for her final dose of the Covid vaccine.
Another 30 people there – five staff and 25 patients – have also been identified as close contacts and ordered to isolate.
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