Sage advice as pandemic worsens
The letter answers the concerns of many people who are hesitating to have the jab. People with a heart condition, diabetes, a history of deep vein thrombosis, a history of cancer and many other chronic or severe conditions “can be reassured that based on real-world data from the hundreds of millions of AstraZeneca vaccine doses administered, they face no additional risks”, it says. There is no evidence the vaccine affects fertility. Death from Covid-19 is a real possibility, the doctors warn. While the risk of death is highest in older age groups “we are now seeing serious illness and death in unvaccinated young patients”, they noted.
On Thursday, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced that of five Covid deaths recorded in the past 24 hours, four of the deceased were not vaccinated and one person had one dose of AstraZeneca. Three of those who died were in their 60s, one was in their 70s and one person was in their 80s. More than 200 people are in hospital in NSW, with 51 people in intensive care and 24 on ventilation.
The medical experts’ clear, succinct letter needs to be translated and distributed widely in communities with high proportions of non-English speakers. The spread of misinformation is being blamed for vaccine hesitancy and mistrust in Sydney’s southwest, epicentre of the NSW outbreak. Community leaders and a local doctor blame unchecked social media for turning thousands of residents against being vaccinated. Despite a multilingual campaign, vaccine uptake in Sydney’s Covid corridor remains comparatively low.
National cabinet meets on Friday, as lockdowns are costing billions of dollars daily. Tourism operators, for example, are facing the most desperate time of the pandemic so far, with visitor numbers reduced to new lows. Schools are closed, and once bustling CBDs are almost deserted. Across all levels of government, constructive co-operation, not pointscoring and party politics, is what matters now.
China cannot change who we are
The Prime Minister must devote more time and effort to the US relationship. Regardless of Australia’s current warmer relationship with China, the latter’s strategic ambitions in Asia are fundamentally different from Australia’s view.
Energy transition that is becoming an end unto itself
High costs and inefficiency are the opposite of productivity. But there’s a growing danger that an overly ambitious net-zero transition will become the key performance indicator for government.
“Do not wait for the Pfizer vaccine if the AstraZeneca vaccine is available to you. AstraZeneca is an excellent vaccine that has already saved millions of lives and will save many more. Covid kills, and by the time you or someone you love is infected, hospitalised or in ICU, it is too late.” That advice, from a group of Australia’s leading medical professionals, potentially will save lives as outbreaks of the Delta variant of the virus that causes Covid-19 worsen. Lockdowns in Greater Sydney, Melbourne (the city’s sixth) and Brisbane, as well as NSW’s Newcastle-Hunter region, underline the importance of advancing the vaccination rollout as quickly as possible. Signatories to the letter, published in The Australian on Thursday, include outgoing National Health and Medical Research Council chairman Bruce Robinson; former deputy chief medical officer Nick Coatsworth; Gardasil vaccine co-developer, clinical immunologist and former Australian of the year Ian Frazer; former Australian Medical Association president Steve Hambleton, who is an experienced GP; and a range of specialists including cardiologists and infectious disease physicians.