New Moderna vaccine flagged for NT in coming months
The Territory could be allocated the new Moderna vaccine – which is yet to be approved in Australia – in coming months, according to a new outlook.
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THE Territory could be allocated the new Moderna vaccine – which is yet to be approved in Australia – in coming months with the Astra Zeneca vaccine to be phased out as demand reduces.
The Federal Government has allocated an increasing number of vaccines to the Territory, according to a new outlook which depicts the number of vaccines to be allocated every week for the remainder of the year.
The health department will ramp up vaccines from September (Horizon 2), with 420 – 600 doses of Moderna listed per week.
During Horizon 1 from July to August, the Territory’s dosage allocations will be 50,000 to 58,000 per week for AstraZeneca and 22,000 to 25,000 for Pfizer.
Allocations will increase monthly.
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Both Pfizer and Moderna work in the same way, University of Melbourne epidemiologist Nancy Baxter said on Thursday, speaking on ABC Darwin radio.
“What vaccines try and do is they try and calm the immune system so it recognises a bacteria or virus is foreign and already has the mechanisms to fight it off before it’s ever been exposed to it.
“That’s what it’s trying to do – prime the immune system, and the mRNA vaccines are a new way of doing that.
“What they just do is they attack a slightly different part of the spike protein so they work very similar and are similar in terms of effectiveness,” she said of the two vaccines.
Millions of people overseas have received Moderna vaccine.
The vaccination program will ramp-up to deliver the vaccine by December 2021.
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As the Program moves toward Horizon 3, the uptake of Astra Zenica is expected to decrease as vaccination of the 60 years and over cohort nears completion.
Ongoing vaccinations for new residents and staff will be provided through GPs, state and territory/Commonwealth clinics, or facilities undertaking their own vaccination processes
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