Covid updates: Five new AstraZeneca blood clot cases, new cases in Queensland, NSW and NT
Five new cases of blood clots have been linked to the Astrazeneca jab as 24 new Covid cases in NSW were infectious, while outbreaks in Qld and the NT continue.
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Five new cases of blood clots have been linked to the Astrazeneca vaccine, bringing the nation’s total to 69 cases out of 4.8 million doses.
The Therapeutic Goods Administration has reported on Thursday that two cases are “definitely” linked to the vaccine, involving a 52-year-old woman from WA and a 59-year-old woman from Victoria.
A 64-year-old woman and two men, aged 77 and 83, from NSW are “probably” linked, the TGA said.
“Five additional cases of blood clots with low blood platelets have been assessed as thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS) likely to be linked to the AstraZeneca vaccine,” it said.
“When assessed using the United Kingdom (UK) case definition, two were confirmed and three were deemed probable TTS.
“This brings the total number of cases of TTS to 69 out of 4.8 million doses to date.”
It comes as New South Wales has recorded 24 new locally acquired cases of Covid-19.
Half were in isolation for their entire infectious period, but NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said some were working in the community while symptomatic.
“The fact that half was in the community while infectious is a cause of concern,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“We can’t afford to have people continue to have the virus going about their business.
“In too many examples we are seeing workers who are leaving the house with symptoms or going to work with symptoms and then inadvertently as they are going about shopping or other activity, they are passing it onto others.”
The NSW cases come as Queensland records two new cases.
The new cases, recorded up to 8pm on Wednesday night, include a student nurse that spent four days working across two Sydney hospitals.
Health officials have raced to track down and isolate more than 100 of her close contacts.
A household contact of this nurse is also included today’s number.
Two new cases are linked to the West Hoxton birthday party, bringing the total number of cases acquired through the birthday party to 41, including 27 people who acquired their infection at the party and 14 close contacts.
NSW chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant said 17 of the 24 cases were linked to known cases but seven are under investigation.
One new case was linked to Crossways Hotel while no new cases were linked to Christo’s Pizzeria in Paddington.
Another new case was also associated with Joh Bailey Double Bay and one was linked to Lyfe Café Bondi Beach.
NT CASES GROW
The Northern Territory has recorded one new locally acquired case of COVID-19.
The case, a man, was a close contact of the initial miner who tested positive, has been in quarantine at Howard Springs throughout his infectious period.
Lockdowns imposed on Greater Darwin and Alice Springs continue.
The positive case is a man from the Tanami gold mine who was a close contact of the original case.
The outbreak from the gold mine has grown to 12 people, while Chief Minister Michael Gunner said the man left the mine on Friday, June 25.
He was transferred to the Howard Springs quarantine facility as a high-risk contact.
NT chief health officer Hugh Heggie said contact tracers were pouring over CCTV footage from Alice Springs airport, where the original case passed through on the way back to Adelaide, and contacting as many potentially exposed people as possible.
He travelled to Adelaide on June 26 and returned a negative Covid, test but his wife and three of his four children have since tested positive, the chief minister said.
South Australian authorities later confirmed follow up testing revealed the miner was in fact Covid-positive. It is unclear why his initial test was negative.
“The person who tested positive when they got to Adelaide had spent seven hours in the airport; that's a lot of CCTV to look at in terms of the people from the cafe, indeed how just how close they actually had come within the (man) and so that takes the time,” Dr Heggie said.
“When they identify who they are and they will contact them.”
The case plunged Alice Springs into a three-day lockdown on Wednesday.
The lockdown will last 72 hours and began at 1pm local time.
AUSTRALIA ‘BACK OF THE QUEUE’
Australia is at the “back of the queue” for Pfizer deliveries, Finance Minister Simon Birmingham has admitted.
Mr Birmingham told Sunrise this morning that Australia had experienced Pfizer supply challenges because “European countries and drug companies have favoured those nations who had high rates of Covid for the delivery of vaccines like Pfizer”.
He said this had put “countries like New Zealand and Australia” were at the back of the queue for receiving vaccines.
It comes after Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced suddenly earlier this week that the AstraZeneca vaccine, which the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation reccomends for those aged over 60, could be accessed by those under 40 years old if they consulted their doctor.
The Pfizer vaccine is currently recommended for the latter group.
Health Minister Greg Hunt on Wednesday denied an oversupply of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which is manufactured domestically, and an undersupply of Pfizer has forced the government’s hand
“What we’ve done is ensure that we have very significant supplies of domestically made vaccine, sovereign vaccine manufacturing here in Australia,” Mr Hunt said.
“In terms of the Pfizer, we’re doubling the number of doses that are arriving in Australia on a weekly basis over the course of July.
Mr Birmingham also took aim Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and the state’s chief health officer Jeanette Young after they urged Australians under 40 against receiving the AstraZeneca jab.
Ms Palaszczuk also falsely claimed the UK had banned people aged under 40 from receiving it.
Finance Minister Simon Birmingham described the pair’s intervention as “deeply unhelpful”.
“The politicisation of the vaccine rollout that’s been attempted by some, particularly by some state politicians in Queensland, is shameful,” Mr Birmingham said.
“I don’t know whether it’s because there’s a federal election due in less than a year and she’s wanting to do the Labor Party’s bidding, or whether she just stirring trouble for the sake of it.
“But whatever it is, it’s unhelpful, it should stop. All governments should be working cooperatively on the vaccine rollout.
“I urge people to listen to sound, sensible advice … rather than some of the more extremist claims that have been made.”
QLD RECORDS NEW CASES AS LOCKDOWN DECISION LOOMS
Queensland has recorded two new locally acquired Covid-19 cases on Thursday as the state nervously awaits details about the lockdown being lifted or extended.
One is linked to the Portuguese restaurant cluster and the other worked at the Brisbane Airport and visited a number of sites while infectious.
Chief health officer Dr Jeannette Young described the limited number of new infections as “encouraging news” as the lockdown lifting decision looms in the coming 24-hours.
“The new case today has probably acquired it in our international airport,” she told reporters on Thursday.
“She works at the check-in counter the Qatar Airlines which means she would be checking in, not only the passengers, but she would be involved with the crew. We do know that international flight crew our high risk.”
This case, a woman in her 30s, became symptomatic on June 27, meaning she was infectious in the community since Friday.
The state is delicately poised given it is in the grips of four current sources of infection — the Portuguese restaurant, Virgin Australia flight attendant, the mine cluster from the Northern Territory, and the 19-year-old receptionist infected by a returned traveller quarantining at the Prince Charles Hospital.
The young hospital employee who contracted the highly contagious Delta variant flew to Townsville and visited Magnetic Island while infectious, creating a health threat in the state’s north.
One of the new infections on Wednesday was the teen brother of the 19-year-old receptionist, with both confirmed to have contracted the concerning strain of the deadly virus.
There was also another case linked to the Portuguese restaurant cluster who was already in isolation and the third was a Virgin Australia crew member who was connected to the infected flight attendant.
‘HUGE RELIEF’ AS SA RECORDS NO NEW CASES
South Australia has reported no new coronavirus cases after a long streak of no local infections was broken earlier in the week.
Premier Stephen Marshall said the announcement would come as a “huge relief” to the state at Thursday morning’s press conference.
“We’re very pleased with the way that things are going at the moment,” he said.
It comes after the state recorded its first local Covid-19 infections in 211 days on Tuesday when five new cases emerged.
A miner, who worked at the Northern Territory mine where positive virus cases popped up earlier this week, tested negative on returning to South Australia before turning positive.
His wife and three of his four children, all of who had been quarantining at home since Saturday, also tested positive.
QUEENSLAND GOVERNMENT CRITICISED FOR ASTRAZENECA CALL
Medical experts have accused Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s government of undermining the national Covid-19 immunisation program.
On Wednesday, the state’s chief health officer Jeanette Young said she did “not want under-40s getting AstraZeneca”, after Prime Minister Scott Morrison said all adults could access the vaccine if they consulted their doctor on the small risk it could cause blood clots.
“I don’t want an 18-year-old in Queensland dying from a clotting illness who, if they got Covid, probably wouldn’t die,” Dr Young said.
Australian College of General Practitioners Dr Charlotte Hespe told 2GB radio in Sydney that she was “strongly of the belief that it is up to each individual to weigh up what their choices are”.
“She is definitely scaremongering because she is putting it out there and saying ‘they can’t have their own choice, I’m making a choice for them’,” Dr Hespe.
In a letter, Australian Medical Association president Omar Khorshid on Wednesday told members: “The removal of the restriction on age is reasonable, is in line with the unchanged TGA approval, and will satisfy a desire in the community to be vaccinated as soon as possible.
“The change merely removes the restriction and allows all adult Australians access to the approved vaccine. It gives GPs the opportunity to provide (AstraZeneca) vaccine if this is the patient preference, as long as the risks and benefits have been discussed and the patient has provided informed consent.”
But Dr Khorshid was critical of Mr Morrison’s sudden announcement on the AstraZeneca vaccine, saying the government had thrown “a hand grenade” into the vaccination program.
“There’s a lot of confusion out there,” Dr Khorshid Sky News.
Ms Palaszczuk on Wednesday said there had been no national cabinet agreement, despite Mr Morrison claiming it had been a joint decision.
Ms Palaszczuk said it went directly against the advice of chief health officer Jeannette Young, the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation and the Australian Medical Association.
But she later said she had no problem with people speaking to their doctors about vaccines but told the ABC that the federal government was “looking at setting up mass-vaccination hubs to administer AstraZeneca to the under 40s”, describing the move as extraordinary.
ALICE SPRINGS ENTERS LOCKDOWN
Alice Springs has entered a three-day lockdown after a miner who has tested positive to Covid transited through the town’s airport.
The man spent seven hours at the airport, mainly in the cafe and bathrooms.
“This (lockdown) relates to a man from the Tanami mine site who spent an extended period of time at Alice Springs airport on Friday 25 June,” NT chief minister Michael Gunner said.
He travelled to Adelaide on June 26 and returned a negative Covid test but his wife and three of his four children have since tested positive, the chief minister said.
South Australian authorities later confirmed follow up testing revealed the miner was in fact Covid-positive. It is unclear why his initial test was negative.
The lockdown will last 72 hours and begin at 1pm local time on Wednesday.
While there were no new cases in the last 24 hours in the territory, Mr Gunner said the miner has put the community of Alice Springs on alert.
“We believe that he is highly infectious,” he said.
“It is unlikely that he was highly infectious during his time at Alice Springs airport. But, like all other decisions, we will not take a punt on this.”
“Right now, we believe people who spent time at the departure side of the airport are considered as close contacts.”
There are particular concerns the virus, if in the community, could spread to Indigenous townships, home to some of the most vulnerable Australians.
“If you usually live outside of Alice Springs, like in a community but you are visiting in Alice right now, stay in Alice,” Mr Gunner said.
“Stay there, do not go home right now. If it is critical, we will be able to help you go back to your home community.”
In March last year the NT government created a plan to manage any outbreaks of Covid-19 if they were to spread to remote communities.
The risk to Aboriginal people is considered “severe”, which has triggered a major response. Including in Western Australia where people were told not to travel to thee communities.
Meanwhile, the Adelaide family that tested positive has been isolating in South Australia since Saturday.
They’ve been moved to a dedicated health facility.
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Originally published as Covid updates: Five new AstraZeneca blood clot cases, new cases in Queensland, NSW and NT
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