Politics live news Australia: Fast-tracked drug ‘tags and clears’ coronavirus; Coroner to probe ‘complex’ AstraZeneca-linked death
The first new drug treatment for COVID-19 is being expedited by the TGA. In clinical trials Sotrovimab has seen an 85 per cent reduction of hospitalisations among COVID-19 patients.
- Fast-tracked drug ‘tags and clears’ virus
- LNP turns to ‘father figure’ to stop revolt
- Hunt hits back over UN order over stranded Aussie
- Coroner to probe woman’s jab-linked death, rollout to continue
- Frydenberg throws HomeBuilder lifeline
- Victoria records two new cases
- Blood clot death linked to vaccine
- Labor has Laming’s seat in its sights
Welcome to The Weekend Australian’s coverage of political events and response to the coronavirus crisis.
The first new drug treatment for COVID-19 is being expedited by the TGA. In clinical trials Sotrovimab has seen an 85 per cent reduction of hospitalisations among COVID-19 patients.
Australians who struggled to meet the criteria for the HomeBuilder program have been given an extension to begin construction, Josh Frydenberg has announced. Meanwhile, the Therapeutic Goods Administration has revealed the death of a 48-year-old NSW central coast woman was linked to the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Queensland’s Liberal National Party is set to turn to father figure Lawrence Springborg to quell bitter infighting that threatens to engulf the division and damage the Morrison government’s re-election prospects.
Here’s how Saturday unfolded:
Natasha Robinson7.45pm:Fast-tracked drug ‘tags and clears’ coronavirus
The first new drug treatment for COVID-19 is being expedited by the Therapeutic Goods Administration, which has granted a provisional determination to an antibody treatment developed by pharmaceutical company GSK.
The provisional determination is the first step in a fast-tracked approval process for priority new drugs. Monoclonal antibody treatment has been approved in several other countries, but GSK’s drug will be the first new treatment available for COVID-19 in Australia.
The drug, called Sotrovimab, has been shown in clinical trials to result in an 85 per cent reduction of hospitalisations among COVID-19 positive patients.
“Monoclonal antibodies basically mimic the body’s own immune system to help target and fight off harmful pathogens,” said GSK’s medical lead for COVID therapeutics, Krystal Evans.
“This drug can both neutralise the virus directly, by essentially tagging the virus, and the immune system can help clear it, and it also prevents the virus from entering into the cells of the human body so it can’t replicate.
“The other thing that this antibody does is help the immune system to clear already infected cells. So it’s got this dual function, it can both block the virus and help the immune system clear the virus before it’s infected the body.
GSK has partnered with Californian biotech Vir Biotechnology to develop the drug. Phase III clinical trials were not able to be carried out in Australia due to low COVID-19 case numbers and so were completed overseas.
Michael McKenna4.45pm:LNP turns to Lawrence Springborg to stop revolt
Queensland’s Liberal National Party is set to turn to father figure Lawrence Springborg to quell bitter infighting that threatens to engulf the division and damage the Morrison government’s re-election prospects.
Mr Springborg, 53, an architect of the conservative merger to create the LNP in 2008, had three stints as state opposition leader and served as a senior government minister under Campbell Newman. He has been coaxed out of retirement from state politics to end a widening revolt against the organisational wing.
The rebels expect to secure support across the party to install Mr Springborg as LNP president at the party’s state convention in July, rolling an entrenched group that has held sway for the past 14 years in which “fortress Queensland” became an electoral rock for the federal Coalition. The LNP won 23 of the state’s then 30 federal seats at the 2019 federal election, underpinning Mr Morrison’s victory, and Queensland looms large in all calculations for the poll due by late May next year.
Read the full story here.
Joyce Moullakis4pm:Business has a part to play in vaccine rollout: NAB
National Australia Bank wants companies to support the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine and for federal and state governments to develop a national plan for living with the virus.
“Short-term lockdowns in capital cities disrupt travel plans, they undermine confidence and deter activity,” NAB chief executive Ross McEwan said, adding that further travel bubbles such as that with New Zealand would also buoy the recovery.
“More of these arrangements are needed. This will show that Australia can manage international arrivals which is critical for confidence.”
Mr McEwan also suggested large companies like NAB could help to accelerate the COVID-19 vaccine rollout by overseeing the jab in the workplace.
“Last week as I had my flu shot at work, I was considering how large employers like NAB could assist with the rollout of the vaccine. We would be happy to do so at the right time,” he said.
Read the full story here.
Joseph Lam3.25pm:Virus transmitted at Sydney CBD hotel
Authorities are investigating the possible spread of COVID-19 between two families in hotel quarantine at a hotel in Sydney’s CBD.
The two families, a total of seven people, tested positive for COVID-19 while staying at the Adina Apartments Hotel near Sydney Town Hall. Each family had returned from a different country.
NSW Health said the positive tests were a sign a possible transmission had taken place.
“This suggests there may have been transmission of the infection within hotel quarantine,” a NSW Health spokesperson told The Daily Telegraph.
“The cases have previously been counted as overseas-acquired cases in NSW Health’s daily COVID-19 reporting.
“This classification will be reviewed pending further investigation.”
Read more:Blood clot death linked to vaccine
AFP 2.50pm:Canada extends Ontario lockdown
Canada’s most populous province, Ontario, has extended its lockdown and implemented stricter measures to fight Covid, closing domestic borders and barring unnecessary travel, its leader said Friday.
The province of 14 million people registered 4,812 new cases — a record high — and 25 deaths on Friday, according to health officials.
“The pace of our vaccine supply has not kept up with the spread of the new Covid variants,” Ontario Premier Doug Ford told reporters.
“We are on our heels, but if we dig in, remain steadfast, we can turn this around. We’re down, but by no means are we out,” he said.
Ford extended the lockdown now in effect by two weeks until May 19, and ordered Ontario residents to go out only to tend to their basic needs.
Police will be able to crack down on offenders by fining them Can$750 (US$600). The provincial government is also closing non-essential construction sites, limiting outdoor gatherings to only family members and one other person, and banning outdoor sports like golf and basketball.
It is also limiting the capacity of essential businesses, such as pharmacies or supermarkets, to 25 per cent, as well as weddings, funerals and religious ceremonies to 10 people.
Read more:Canada faces devastating third wave of coronavirus
Frances Vinall2pm:Hunt responds to UN ruling on stranded Aussies
Health Minister Greg Hunt has responded to a bombshell request from the UN Human Rights Committee for Australia to return a citizen stuck overseas.
The committee on Thursday made the request as it considers if Australia’s strict pandemic border rules breach international law, through a test case brought by stranded Aussie Jason George.
It requested Australia “facilitate and ensure” the return of Mr George, who is being represented by star human rights lawyer Geoffrey Robertson QC.
Mr Hunt said “hundreds of thousands” of Australians had returned home through the hotel quarantine system, when asked about the development in a press conference on Saturday.
“Our goal is very clear, to bring as many Australians home as early as possible,” he said.
“We welcome the fact that Victoria has reopened its hotel quarantine system and that will allow more Australians to come home earlier.
“NSW has been the backbone of that, Queensland and WA and others have played a significant part – but Victoria will help to address the problem and it will mean more Australians coming home.”
The UN request for Australia to facilitate Mr George’s return home is an interim measure while the committee continues hearing the case.
Read the full story here.
Joseph Lam1.40pm:Four new cases recorded in SA
Four new cases of COVID-19 have been detected in South Australia, bringing the state’s active case total to 13.
In the past 24 hours, there have been at least seven new cases recorded across the country.
South Australia has recorded a total of 682 cases since the beginning of the pandemic. The state administered 1299 vaccines over the past 24 hours bringing the state’s total to 45,485.
South Australian COVID-19 update 17/4/21. For more information, go to https://t.co/mYnZsGpayo or contact the South Australian COVID-19 Information Line on 1800 253 787. pic.twitter.com/7mEdXDLV4Z
— SA Health (@SAHealth) April 17, 2021
READ MORE:Holgate’s secret plan for Australia Post
Dow Jones1.26pm:China plans to approve first foreign Covid vaccine by July
China is planning to approve its first foreign COVID-19 vaccine before July, according to people familiar with the matter, as pressure mounts from domestic scientists and the foreign business community to expand beyond the country’s own roster of shots.
Chinese officials have been scrutinising clinical-trial data for the coronavirus vaccine made by Germany’s BioNTech SE and are expected to green light domestic distribution of the shot within the next 10 weeks, people privy to these discussions say. Some of the people were told of the timeline during a private discussion with government and health officials. The others were government officials briefed on the internal discussions.
Most of China’s shot makers cite trial data showing that their vaccines are close to 100% effective in preventing Covid infections serious enough to require hospitalisation when fully administered. But some Chinese public-health experts, including the head of China’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention, have pushed for the introduction of Western vaccines that are better at preventing milder infections.
Foreign businesses are eager to add Western vaccines to make it easier to travel overseas, where foreign shots are more accepted, according to Ker Gibbs, the president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai.
READ MORE:Anzac travel bubble a major step in recovery
Joseph Lam1pm:Our Olympic athletes may soon receive the vaccine
Olympic athletes could be next in line to receive the COVID-19 jab as the Australian government considers vaccines for “critical national business”.
Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt on Saturday said the government would consider vaccinating athletes ahead of the Tokyo games in July.
“A request in the last 48 hours and one of the items the national cabinet is considering is the option for people who are travelling on critical national business to be vaccinated,” Mr Hunt said.
“Under the critical workers phase that will be considered in the course of the coming week but there has not been a decision.”
“We shall want to see our Olympians get to the Olympics and we want to see that they are safe.”
READ MORE: Olympians to be fast-tracked for vaccinations
Joseph Lam12.04pm:Woman’s death won’t affect jab rollout
Greg Hunt says Australia needs a continuous review of vaccine safety following the death of a 48 year-old NSW woman who received the Astra Zeneca vaccine.
But the Health Minister said the death of Central Coast woman Genene Norris — likely the result of a rare blood clotting syndrome linked to the vaccine she received on April 8 — would not affect the national rollout at this stage.
He said the government had asked the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation to review vaccine while the government would continue to follow the Therapeutic Goods Administration’s advice.
An investigation into Ms Norris’s death is under way and an inquest will be held by the Coroner.
“Throughout the course of the pandemic we have followed the medical advice and we will continue to do that,” Mr Hunt said on Saturday.
“Sometimes difficult and hard decisions are made but we will continue to follow that medical advice because, ultimately, that is the greatest protection for Australians.
“There were, during January and February, some who had differing views on the question of conducting a full and thorough safety (review) in the process through the TGA and I think that clearly was something that was the right thing to do.”
The TGA’s Deputy Secretary Professor John Skerrit said Ms Norris received the AstraZeneca jab before health advice changed for under 50s. She had a number of other health issues and her case was complex.
“The case was particularly complicated to make the call on because the lady had a number of underlying medical conditions,” professor Skerrit said.
“At the moment, the evidence is that we don’t have other cases like this in front of us.”
Professor Skerrit described Ms Norris’ case as “atypical” and said an autopsy would be performed early next week.
“Again, the current advice of the Therapeutic Goods Administration and a target is that the balance of risk versus benefit, the balance of benefit is positive,” he added.
“The investigations and the ability to attribute cause and effect are compensated by the fact that this individual had some underlying medical conditions which we won’t talk about because of privacy reasons.”
Angelica Snowden11.33am:Diggers revolt over Anzac Day ‘sign up’
Organisers fear some veterans are staging a revolt — or a “silent boycott” — against government rules forcing them to register before being allowed to march on Anzac Day with 80 per cent of official places unfilled ahead of next Sunday’s commemoration.
After last year’s Anzac Day events were cancelled at the height of the national COVID-19 lockdown, marchers have been allowed to return to the streets in Sydney and Melbourne under strict contact tracing rules.
But only 1100 veterans have registered out of a capacity of 5500 for the Melbourne march and Sydney’s 10,000-capacity event has received registrations from 600 individuals and 120 associations.
Organisers fear some veterans are staging a revolt — or a “silent boycott” — against government rules forcing them to register before being allowed to march on Anzac Day with 80 per cent of official places unfilled ahead of next Sunday’s commemoration.
After last year’s Anzac Day events were cancelled at the height of the national COVID-19 lockdown, marchers have been allowed to return to the streets in Sydney and Melbourne under strict contact tracing rules.
But only 1100 veterans have registered out of a capacity of 5500 for the Melbourne march and Sydney’s 10,000-capacity event has received registrations from 600 individuals and 120 associations.
Read the full story here.
Angela Shanahan11.10am:Jab or no jab, Australians are trapped in a golden cage
Amid the confusion over the vaccine rollout and media criticism of the government’s handling of the situation, one thing has become quite clear — Australians have decided what to do about vaccination themselves, and many have decided not to be vaccinated.
Unlike the initial lockdown and various outbreaks which were suppressed with maximum population compliance, vaccination is not being met with universal compliance, especially from people in the over-50s age group who now must have the Astra Zeneca vaccine or nothing.
It is hardly reassuring to a nation of inveterate gamblers for the TGA to say that your chances of winning lotto are higher than getting a thrombosis from the Astra Zeneca vaccine. Despite all the reassurance from the medical profession, most of whom have had the Pfizer vaccine, Australians are going to take their time.
People in the over-50 age group are cancelling their vaccine appointments, so it is obvious that they are weighing up having a vaccine with possibly fatal side effects, versus the remote possibility of having COVID-19.
Read Angela Shanahan’s full analysis here.
Joseph Lam10.35am:Victoria records two new cases
Victoria has recorded two new cases of COVID-19 bringing the number of active cases in the state to 10.
During the 24 hours to midnight, 2833 vaccines were administered, bringing the state total to 162,108.
Reported yesterday: no new local cases, 2 acquired overseas .
— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) April 16, 2021
- 2,833 vaccine doses were administered
- 11,829 test results were received
Got symptoms? Get tested.
More later: https://t.co/2vKbgKHFvv#COVID19Vic#COVID19VicDatapic.twitter.com/bYPpfmdXMK
READ MORE: Peter van Onselen — A conga line of failures from Team Morrison
Joseph Lam10.10am:Frydenberg throws HomeBuilder lifeline
Australians who struggled to meet the criteria for the HomeBuilder program have been given an extension to begin construction.
When applications closed Wednesday, there 121,000 applications in lieu with homeowners bound by a six-month construction deadline. Now, it’s been extended.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and Housing Minister Michael Sukkar on Saturday announced the 12-month extension, saying that extreme weather had severely affected the sector.
“There have been some challenges with extreme weather events and getting materials through international supply chains and in fact, getting a tradie because everyone is so busy now as a result of this program as well as other broader economic support measures,” Mr Frydenberg said.
“So, this is for those 121,000 applications that have already been made.”
“We are really pleased with this program and the fact that it will cost $2.5 billion is overshadowed by the fact that it will create $30 billion of activity in the residential construction sector and a lot more activity across the economy and you have to remember when we put this program in place to start with, jobs were being lost across building sites across the country and this has helped save those jobs.”
READ MORE: Call to lift first-home loan threshold
Darren Cartwright9.58am:Australia has lost a political great: Frydenberg
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has described former Liberal leader Andrew Peacock as one of Australia’s “political greats”, joining other political heavyweights in paying tribute after the 82-year-old’s death in the US overnight.
A stylish dresser, with a touch of sophistication, and dubbed the “colt of Kooyong”, Mr Peacock was foreign minister from 1975-1980 under Malcolm Fraser.
He held the inner-Melbourne seat of Kooyong from 1966 to 1994; the same one Frydenberg has held for the past 11 years.
“Australia has lost one of its political greats in Andrew Peacock,” the treasurer said in a statement.
“Combining style and substance, he left an indelible mark on the Australian political scene.
“As leader, minister and Member for Kooyong for 28 years he carried the baton of his predecessor Sir Robert Menzies, championing Liberal ideals and providing strong and good government.”
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Mr Peacock was “one of our greatest Liberals who helped shape Australia and the Liberal Party over three decades”.
Read the full story here.
Joseph Lam9.40am:Queensland records one new case
Queensland has recorded one new COVID-19 case, bringing the states total to 1516 since the beginning of the pandemic.
The new case is among an overseas returned traveller and was detected in hotel quarantine.
READ MORE: Chris Kenny — Just vaccinate the elderly and give us our lives back
Adeshola Ore9.25am:Laming’s seat in Labor’s sights
Indigenous health advocate Donisha Duff will be Labor’s candidate for the seat of Bowman – currently held by Andrew Laming — as the opposition moves to target the disgraced MP’s electorate.
After a month of controversy surrounding Dr Laming’s alleged harassment of women, Queensland’s Liberal National Party disendorsed the MP this week after he refused to formally withdraw his nomination to contest the next federal election.
Anthony Albanese announced Ms Duff as Labor’s contender for Bowman outside Dr Laming’s electorate office in Brisbane. The Opposition Leader said Ms Duff, who had lived in the Redlands area for 30 years, would be “on the side of the community”.
Mr Albanese also blasted Dr Laming, who has held the seat of Bowman since 2004, as a “creep” and an “embarrassment to the community.”
“People in the LNP knew that Andrew Laming had engaged in behaviour that brings politics into disrepute,” he said.
“This community has an opportunity for someone better, someone who truly represent them … Donisha Duff will be on the side of this community.”
Read the full story here.
Christine Kellett9am:Queen’s touching tribute to Prince Philip
Ahead of Prince Philip’s funeral tonight, Australian time, Queen Elizabeth has released a private photo of herself and her late husband in Scotland.
The Queen wishes to share this private photograph taken with The Duke of Edinburgh at the top of the Coyles of Muick, Scotland in 2003.
— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) April 16, 2021
📷Photograph by The Countess of Wessex. pic.twitter.com/CE030Ux0UB
Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, will be farewelled in a drastically pared-down funeral service at Windsor Castle, attended by just 30 mourners, including grandson Prince Harry, who has reportedly been quarantining in on the royal estate after flying in from California.
He joins other senior royals who have begun gathering at Windsor Castle for the event.
READ MORE:Brothers’ walk of grief that could heal the hurt
Jess Malcolm, Natasha Robinson8.40am:Blood clot death linked to AstraZeneca jab
The Therapeutic Goods Administration has revealed the death of a 48-year-old NSW central coast woman was linked to the AstraZeneca vaccine.
It is the third case in Australia of a death linked to the shot.
In a statement released late on Friday night, the TGA said its Vaccine Safety Investigation Group had concluded that the woman had developed blood clots with a low platelet count, after receiving the vaccine on April 8.
The review found that her death was complicated by underlying medical conditions, including diabetes and other “atypical” conditions. “The case was consistent with causal association to immunisation although for this patient, anti-PF4 antibodies were absent,” the statement said. “Despite the atypical clinical features and the negative antibody test, in the absence of an alternative cause for the clinical syndrome, VSIG believed that a causative link to vaccination should be assumed at this time.”
The TGA said the woman was vaccinated prior to the federal government’s decision that the Pfizer vaccine was preferred for patients under 50. It also noted that the rates of blood clotting related to the vaccine were still very low.
Read the full story here.
Rosie Lewis8.15am:States told to gamble on overseas travel
State governments will have to give the green light to allow vaccinated Australians to travel abroad and return using home quarantine, as the business community urges premiers to “radically adjust their risk appetite” towards COVID-19.
The Prime Minister said the “sensible next step” for international travel was for Australians who had received both vaccine doses to be able to go overseas for work, medical or compassionate reasons, and re-enter the country with “some form of home quarantine”.
While the federal government is responsible for the international border, Mr Morrison said it was imperative the states were involved “because ultimately they would have to sign off on those arrangements because they look after public health”.
The government has also appointed Navy Commodore Eric Young as its logistics chief for the vaccine rollout to oversee supply and distribution, with Mr Morrison due to sketch out more details about the role at Monday’s national cabinet meeting.
Employers on Friday backed Mr Morrison’s travel plan, which he said could result in 1000 or more cases of coronavirus in Australia per week once the international border was reopened.
Read the full story here.
Tom Whipple7.45am: Blood clots more likely with Covid than vaccine
The risk of severe blood clots in the brain from COVID-19 is about eight times greater than the risk associated with taking the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, scientists have found.
The researchers said that the figures, from a database of half a million COVID-19 cases in the US, should help regulators and the public better to understand the “risk-benefit question” when looking at the side effects of vaccines.
The study, published before a peer review, found that about 40 in a million people suffered blood clots in the brain two weeks after a coronavirus infection. Of those, about one in five were fatal. Regulators believe that the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is linked to a four to five in a million risk of similar clots.
John Geddes, from Oxford University, said that although this appeared to be a rare side effect of vaccines, it was just one of many caused by the virus.
“A lot of the attention has been taken away and put on the vaccine. The importance of this finding is it brings it back to the fact this is a really horrible illness that has a whole variety of effects.”
Read the full story here.
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