Hyped-up spat sparks fresh confusion over vaccines
In its quest to wage political war on Scott Morrison and the Coalition on Wednesday, the Palaszczuk government claimed the Prime Minister was putting lives in danger. Mr Morrison’s advice that young people who wanted the AstraZeneca jab should see their doctors “risked the safety of young Australians’’, Ms Palaszczuk claimed.
Her scaremongering, incredibly, was backed by Queensland’s chief health officer and soon-to-be governor, Dr Jeannette Young, and Deputy Premier Steven Miles. In one of the most astonishing anti-vaccine statements Australians have ever heard from a medico, Dr Young said: “Wouldn’t it be terrible that our first 18-year-old in Queensland who dies related to this pandemic died because of the vaccine?”
The undertone of danger could send reluctant patients diving for the doona. Dr Young has given fuel to the anti-vax movement, health editor Natasha Robinson writes: “Anyone listening to Dr Young’s comments would be left with the impression that a young person taking the AstraZeneca vaccine was a risky proposition.’’
Former deputy chief medical officer and infectious disease specialist Dr Nick Coatsworth was quick to disagree with Dr Young. “Critical ethical principle of autonomy at stake here,’’ he said. “Should not be paternalistic.’’
According to the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation – the group whose advice Dr Young insists that young people follow – the estimated incidence of blood clots among 30-39-year-olds was about 1.6 cases per 100,000 doses of AstraZeneca. The risk of death for a young person from the vaccine would be around 0.004 per cent.
On Wednesday, Health Minister Greg Hunt clarified the government’s position. He said that while he would “never step between a doctor and a patient’’, Pfizer remains the preferred vaccine for under-60s, and AstraZeneca for over-60s, as advised by the Australian Technical Advisory Group.
From Queensland’s perspective, the imbroglio is a cynical exercise in blame-shifting to deflect attention from the state health authorities allowing a 19-year-old unvaccinated receptionist to work just outside the Covid ward of a major Brisbane hospital. That failure caused the current Covid outbreak, which triggered the lockdown of 3.8 million people in Brisbane, the Gold and Sunshine Coasts, Townsville and nearby Magnetic Island.
Nor does Ms Palaszczuk’s call for the federal government to tighten the caps on people coming into Australia “from overseas or leaving Australia and coming back for a whole range of purposes’’ stand scrutiny. Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews belled the cat when she said Ms Palaszczuk was “arguing against her own travel to Tokyo’’ and needed to say whether she would make the trip. Attending the Olympics was one reason Ms Palaszczuk, 51, gave for having the Pfizer vaccine in early June, when Astra Zeneca, at that stage, was still being recommended by health authorities for people aged 50 to 60.
A fact check by The Australian of what Ms Palaszczuk and Dr Young said, published on Thursday, reveals distortions and exaggerations. For example, Ms Palaszczuk said there had been “no national cabinet decision about providing AstraZeneca to the under-40s”.
And Queensland Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said Scott Morrison had “come out and suggested that under-40s get AstraZeneca”. In fact, the statement issued after national cabinet said: “National cabinet noted that GPs can continue to administer AstraZeneca to Australians under 60 years of age with informed consent.’’
The Prime Minister told reporters: “If they (under-40s) wish to go and speak to their doctor and have access to the AstraZeneca vaccine, they can do so.” He did not directly suggest under-40s should receive an AstraZeneca shot but did “encourage” them to talk to their GP.
As NSW chief health officer Kerry Chant said on Wednesday, ATAGI’s advice “that for those under 60, Pfizer is the preferred vaccine’’ should be respected. But, she said, ATAGI had also said people could make “personal choices’’. Such choices needed to be informed, and discussions about risk were best conducted with patients’ GPs.
Nor do claims by Deputy Premier Miles pass muster. He said the federal government was letting “thousands of travellers” into the country every day and that “half” were non-citizens. “The borders are not genuinely closed,’’ he claimed. The Australian Border Force said more than 80 per cent of international arrivals required to quarantine were Australian citizens, permanent residents or their immediate families.
In contrast to the political bickering and over-the-top scaremongering, employer groups made a constructive contribution on Wednesday. They will consider offering 7.5 million workers flexible hours and access to paid or unpaid leave to accelerate the vaccine rollout and avoid further lockdowns threatening economic recovery. It would help, when more than 12 million people are under lockdown in NSW, Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory. The business leaders are being more sensible than some politicians and bureaucrats when the last things patients need are false alarms and confusion that could deter then from rolling up their sleeves. While 7.6 million first jabs have been given so far, the rollout has a long way to go.
