Live breaking news: 53yo South Australian man in intensive care with blood clots
A 53-year-old South Australian man is in intensive care in a “very serious condition” after he developed blood clots possibly linked to the AstraZeneca jab.
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South Australia’s chief health officer Professor Nicola Spurrier has addressed a case of severe blood clotting linked to the AstraZeneca vaccine in the state.
A 53-year-old man is currently in intensive care in a “very serious condition” after having the AstraZeneca vaccine. Prof Spurrier said her thoughts are “with him and with his family.”
“He had his first dose AstraZeneca on Tuesday 4 May and was admitted to hospital on Wednesday 18 May with severe abdominal pain,” she said.
She said a second person, an 87-year-old woman, had also been alerted to them as a probable case.
Continue checking back on our live coverage for all of today's news updates.
Updates
Baby dead after horror drowning
A baby boy has died after being found unresponsive by police who were called to a concern for welfare in Sydney’s south west today.
According to initial reports, the six-month-old baby suffered a “near drowning” incident before becoming unresponsive.
But police said in a statement on Thursday night that the baby boy had died in hospital.
“Upon arrival, officers attached to Camden Police Area Command found a baby boy, 6 months old, unconscious and unresponsive,” NSW Police said in a statement.
“The infant was given CPR at the scene by paramedics before being taken to Campbelltown Hospital, however, was unable to be revived.”
The Queensland government has decided to snub using AstraZeneca as it continues its vaccination rollout.
Following news the AstraZeneca vaccine should not be given to people under 50, the state made the decision to scrap it from its rollout completely.
The remaining doses of AstraZeneca are being sent to Queensland GP clinics, and the state won’t be delivering them at mass vaccination hubs.
Picture: Annette Dew
The Sunshine State is currently giving the Pfizer vaccine to its frontline healthcare workers and vulnerable people in Phase 1.
Queensland’s Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the reason for not setting up the vaccine hubs was because the state was too “decentralised”. However, the state will establish those hubs when further doses of Pfizer and Moderna become available.
“Queensland is a big state, it is so decentralised, that so much planning is happening at the moment for that final quarter of the year, when we have more supply in Pfizer, Moderna it is going to ramp up,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
“And I know that Queenslanders are going to go out there in droves when we have all that supply ready.”
Hamas says ceasefire in Gaza is ‘imminent’
A ceasefire to end the bloodshed in the Israel-Palestine conflict could be “imminent” Hamas officials have claimed.
The officials told CNN the end to the violence could happen “possibly within 24 hours" as world leaders, including US President Joe Biden, increased their pressure to bring a stop to the rocket attacks from both sides.
Israel has not yet made a comment on whether or not a ceasefire is likely.
While both sides have suffered casualties, the number of Palestinian casualties have been disproportionate.
Over 10 days, Israeli strikes have killed 227 Palestinians, according to the Gaza health ministry, while Palestinian rocket fire has claimed 12 lives in Israel, according to Israeli police.
Picture: Said Khatib / AFP
The persistent unrest came after a strong call from Washington on Wednesday for an easing of the hostilities.
“The president conveyed to the prime minister (Benjamin Netanyahu) that he expected a significant de-escalation today on the path to a ceasefire,” the White House said after a fourth phone call in a little over a week.
Germany’s top diplomat was also due for talks in Israel on Thursday, in the latest effort to broker a ceasefire.
An Israeli military official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Israel was assessing at what stage it may stop its military campaign.
“We are looking at when is the right moment for a ceasefire,” said the source.
–with AFP
Vaccine ban hairdresser claims to have 'proof'
A Gold Coast hairdresser, who found herself in hot water yesterday after announcing vaccinated Aussies were no longer welcome in her salon, has today posted “proof” to support the ban.
Yazmina Adler is the owner of Khemia HI Vibe Frequency salon at Palm Beach and the person behind the ban.
Picture: Instagram
Ms Adler did the media rounds this morning, explaining she was living her truth and protecting her “staff and clients”.
The business yesterday asked anyone who had a COVID vaccination to notify them before making a booking.
“The unknown health effects of the mRNA vaccine are not covered by our public liability insurance,” Ms Adler wrote on social media.
“We are deeply sorry for any inconvenience to you,” she said. “However, the safety of our staff and existing clients is our priority.”
The business said it will re-evaluate the policy in 2023 “when clinical trials of the experimental injection are completed”.
SA man in intensive care with blood clots
South Australia’s chief health officer Professor Nicola Spurrier has addressed a case of severe blood clotting linked to the AstraZeneca vaccine in the state.
A 53-year-old man is currently in intensive care in a “very serious condition” after having the AstraZeneca vaccine. Prof Spurrier said her thoughts are “with him and with his family.”
“He had his first dose AstraZeneca on Tuesday 4 May and was admitted to hospital on Wednesday 18 May with severe abdominal pain,” she said.
She said a second person, an 87-year-old woman, had also been alerted to them as a probable case.
Picture: Mike Burton
“With this particular syndrome that has been linked to the AstraZeneca vaccine, it can occur anywhere from four days to 28 days after having the vaccination.
"It is important for people that have had the AstraZeneca vaccine to monitor themselves for symptoms and when they don't have the then, that should be provided with information about what those things are.
"It includes having a severe persistent headache or severe abdominal pain.”
Six new clot cases ‘likely linked’ to vaccine
The Therapeutic Goods Administration said six new cases of blood clotting have been found to be likely to be linked to the AstraZeneca vaccine.
The TGA said when assessed the cases using the UK’s definitions, four of the cases were confirmed, and two remained probable.
The cases were assessed as thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS).
The TGA stressed TTS is a “rare event”, that involves serious blood clots and a low blood platelet count.
“Emerging evidence suggests a causal link to the AstraZeneca vaccine,” the regulator said.
In this week’s COVID-19 vaccine weekly safety report, the most reported suspected side effects are commonly experienced with vaccines generally. There have been six additional cases of blood clots with low blood platelets which have been assessed as TTS. https://t.co/wH5KcZDnFIpic.twitter.com/L8qmiNAWzt
“Six 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,” the TGA said today.
“When assessed using the UK case definition, four cases are confirmed and two are deemed probable TTS.”
CEO clarifies ‘people may die’ comment
The CEO of Virgin Australia Jayne Hrdlicka has addressed controversial comments she made earlier this week, where she called for a reopening of international borders even if “some people may die”.
After days of backlash, Ms Hrdlicka said the way comments were perceived was not the same as her intention, NCA NewsWire reports.
“I absolutely understand my words, taken in isolation, were hurtful to some people,” the Virgin boss said.
Picture: William West / AFP
“If I had my time again I would maybe choose my words a bit differently."
She said she stood by her calls to reopen international borders, protect vulnerable communities, and allow businesses access to the international market.
The Virgin Australia boss said on Monday if enough people were vaccinated, and vulnerable Australians were protected, the government should open international borders earlier than mid 2022.
“COVID will be part of the community, we will become sick with COVID and it won’t put us in hospital, and it won’t put people into dire straits because we’ll have a vaccine. Some people may die, but it will be way smaller than with the flu,” Ms Hrdlicka said.
Unemployment rate falls to 5.5 per cent
Australia’s unemployment rate has fallen to 5.5 per cent.
Some 30,600 people lost their jobs in April, while 33,800 people found full-time jobs in the same month. There was also a loss of 64,000 part-time jobs.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics said the end of the JobKeeper wage subsidy “did not have a discernible impact on employment between March and April."
Australia, labour force (April): Employment change: -30,600 (survey: +20,000); FT jobs: +33,800 PT jobs: -64,400; Unemployment rate: 5.5% (survey: 5.6%) Participation rate: 66.0% (survey: 66.3%) #ausbiz#ausecon#commsec
The NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has announced 25 new vaccine sites will be opening across NSW.
The jab sites will be in addition to the mass vaccination hub already operating at Sydney’s Olympic Park, and 17 centres will service rural and regional NSW. One of the sites will be at Westmead, the Premier said on Thursday.
“We're really keen to make sure we vaccinate our population as quickly as possible, as safely as possible, and in as efficient a way as possible,” Ms Berejiklian said.
Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gaye Gerard
“So far, the public feedback we've had in relation to people going through that process has been extremely positive.
“New South Wales has always said that we want to vaccinate our populations, because we know that gives us an opportunity to ease any restrictions, but also to think about how we reconnect with the rest of the world.
"And these are conversations happening in different countries across the globe and New South Wales wants to be as ready as possible, as soon as possible, to make sure we don't get left behind, and make sure we provide our citizens with the best opportunities available.”
Journalist locked up over COVID-19 reporting
A journalist in Bangladesh could face the death penalty for breaching strict government secrecy laws while reporting on the country's coronavirus outbreak.
Rozina Islam, who works for media outlet Prothom Alo, was arrested this week for allegedly stealing official government documents related to COVID-19.
Police reports claim Ms Islam took photos of documents related to the procurement of vaccines at the government's Health Ministry in Dhaka.
Bangladeshi journalists have since rallied for Ms Islam, forming a human chain outside the Health Ministry after Ms Islam was charged.
Her colleagues claim she was physically harassed after being detained for her crime, which carries a maximum penalty of death.
A father has revealed his tragic final call with his 16-year-old son before he died in a horrific crash in Buxton that claimed the lives of four other local children.
