Let’s look to our neighbours too as we fight the virus

We need a new vaccination strategy. But it’s not just because of side effects of the AstraZeneca vaccine. New, more resistant, more dangerous variants of the COVID-19 virus will continue to emerge in countries where the virus is rampant. Our nearest neighbour, Papua New Guinea, is a small but obvious example. Yet our government will not support moves to stop rich countries from buying up excess virus nor will it support a move to force the pharmaceutical industry to suspend its patents temporarily so middle-income countries like India can manufacture huge quantities of vaccine to slow down the pandemic. When new variants develop we will be faced with them as we open our borders. We are ignoring our own long-term safety as well as supporting the preventable death of millions of people in poorer countries.

Tim Woodruff, president, Doctors Reform Society

The government is to be congratulated for its prompt response to the latest findings on the AstraZeneca vaccine (“Clot fears force vaccine switch”, 9/4). Despite criticism by some, it has done as much as possible to obtain supplies of that particular vaccine. However, it may be timely now to concentrate on other vaccine brands to provide real consumer choice. AstraZeneca is effective, but it is not the most effective vaccine available. Supply issues are always an important consideration, but they should be secondary to consumer preference.

Michael Schilling, Millswood, SA

I am glad Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly says nothing is off the table in the jab rollout. We could use something, anything, on the table at the moment. I am in the 1B group and have called my GP three times in the past two weeks for a vaccine appointment. I have heard: we don’t know when the vaccine will arrive; yes, we have received a very limited number of doses; no, you can’t make a vaccine appointment; doctors are triaging patients so wait for your phone call. Lest we forget, Paul Kelly, this is not our finest hour.

John Busselmaier, Hope Island, Qld

In the US, vaccination is being rolled out as the only workable way to damp down the spread of the virus. In Australia, however, vaccination is merely a safety net. It protects us against yet another breakdown in the quarantine system. Only too soon the greed for tourist dollars will tempt the government to open the floodgates and we will be falling into that far-from-perfect safety net.

Get your jab as soon as you can. Even with holes, it is better than no net at all.

John Billingsley, Middle Ridge, Qld

Wearing masks in many indoor venues remains mandatory in Queensland, but what are the benefits? It is worth analysing the effectiveness of HEPA (high efficiency particulate arrestors) filters. I have worked as an engineer building new plants for CSL and AstraZeneca where HEPA filters are used to produce the highest quality air, but it is not virus free. Wikipedia quotes the average size of a coronavirus as 0.1 micron, whereas the effective performance limit of a HEPA filter is 0.3 micron. The effectiveness of masks will depend on the gauge of cloth used but will be much worse.

A year ago, when the pandemic was just getting under way, Anthony Fauci, the chief adviser to the US president, stated he did not recommend wearing masks. Today, in line with the Biden government’s mandate, he is recommending multiple layers of masks. What he is not saying is that no matter how many layers are worn, the virus is small enough to pass through.

Raymond Watson, Sunnybank Hills, Qld

As a society we are devolving from the sublime to the ridiculous. We go into panic mode because of a risk that is tiny. Mathematically, an average person has more chance of dying of natural causes in the next two hours than of blood clots associated with an AstraZeneca vaccination. Sure, we should address such risks where possible, but we also should not let them dominate our society and individual lives as we now increasingly do. Life is a risk, but we have become so fearful and risk averse to such minor things that it is not lived, making it pointless. Instead, it passes us by while we wait for a completely safe alternative that is nothing but a mirage. Perhaps the totemic line from the Who’s My Generation, “Hope I die before I get old” was a prophetic plea.

Andrew Lake, Edwardstown, SA