Covid-19 vaccination key or Australia risks isolation, says Medix CEO Sigal Atzmon

Being vaccinated against Covid-19 is a social responsibility and vital for Australia maintaining its place in the global economy, says Medix chief executive Sigal Atzmon.

Medix president and chief executive Sigal Atzmon.

Australia risks becoming an isolated antipodean nation if it fails to increase vaccination rates for Covid-19 and keeps its international borders closed, the chief executive of a global health company has warned.

With Sydney remaining in lockdown until at least September and international tourists kept out for even longer, the president and CEO of Medix, Sigal Atzmon, has urged more Australians to be vaccinated.

“My call out for all the Australians is to go out and get vaccinated. This is the only way to protect your health, your mental health, your community’s health, the future of the Australian economy,” Ms Atzmon said.

“Right now, with those borders closed and everyone at home – Australia is already far away.

“Australia needs to play a bigger part in the global landscape, not just healthcare – in the overall global landscape, and we really want to get Australians back on track and back into the global ecosystem.

“Right now it’s far away. It’s in a lot of lockdowns, there’s a delay with those vaccines. Let’s do this together. Let’s get vaccinated and back on track.” Ms Atzmon was speaking as Medix unveiled plans to expand across Australia via a partnership with health and life insurer AIA.

Medix provides health information through an app to patients and GPs, helping them navigate the health system and prevent misdiagnosis.

The company says it has “spared 55 per cent” of its seven million members from “unnecessary medical procedures”.

Ms Atzmon said Medix’s platform could provide tailored information to speed up Australia’s Covid-19 immunisation program.

“At the end of the day it’s social responsibility, and we cannot be just focused on ourselves, we have to play our part in society and in our community,” Ms Atzmon said.

“AstraZeneca is completely fine. We just need to be careful with the younger people. Aspirin (to help prevent blood clotting) is absolutely an option.

“We provide that information to people and just being very much aware because coagulation issues are issues that we know how to treat, and how to manage in today’s medical world.

“So it’s about knowing that there is a risk, but there is a risk with, you know, doing everything like crossing the street, or, or having an evening with too much beer, right? Managing knowing, awareness, education, and managing that risk in the right way, and making sure the right people get the jab, and not the people are at risk for blood clotting, without taking any preventive medication and prophylaxis, so there are solutions, and it is more important to get vaccinated.”

The federal government vaccine rollout has suffered from mixed messaging around the AstraZeneca jab – which was its main bet to bring the country back to normality. It ordered more than 50 million doses, with the lion’s share produced by CSL in Melbourne.

But rare blood clotting associated with the AZ vaccine has created resistance to receiving the jab among those aged over 50.

While the federal government’s failure to evenly spread out its immunisation program with multiple vaccines has been blamed for the delayed rollout, disagreement with the states has also been a factor.

Queensland’s chief health officer Jeanette Young won’t back away from her stance discouraging anyone under 60 to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine, while Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, 52, received Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine, saying she had to travel to Tokyo to secure the 2032 Olympics.

Ms Atzmon said although Medix’s platform was a digital tool, the company offered the “human touch of over 300 in-house doctors, nurses, clinical researchers available, and a quality accredited global network of over 4000 specialists and 2000 leading hospitals.

“It’s about empowering individuals with the control and clarity that they need,” to make the right decisions and to choose the best possible clinical pathway,” Ms Atzmon said.