‘If you’re over 18, get any Covid-19 vaccine you can, now’, says expert

Kristine Mccartney has one clear message for people over the age of 18 in Sydney: get vaccinated with any available vaccine immediately.

ATAGI member Kristine Macartney. Picture: Chris Pavlich

Kristine Macartney has one clear message for people in Sydney over the age of 18: get vaccinated with any available vaccine – ­immediately.

“We need to think extraordinarily quickly and move quickly on vaccinating those in the most affected areas,” said Professor Macartney, director of the Nat­ional Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance.

“The reason vaccination is so critically important to use, alongside public health measures with high compliance by the population, is because the first stage of protection from the vaccine kicks in by the end of the second week, so we need to act fast.”

Professor Macartney is also a member of the national vaccine advisory body, ATAGI, which upgraded its advice on Saturday urging anyone in Sydney to “strongly consider” getting the AstraZeneca vaccine.

The rampant spread of the Delta Covid-19 variant in Sydney meant the threat of the virus now outweighed any risk of rare, adverse reactions from the AstraZeneca vaccine, ATAGI said.

Professor Macartney said the advisory group had tried to provide transparent advice but it was complex in an ever-changing risk environment.

“This isn’t about saying who did what and when, this is really about understanding what is a complex context for providing ­advice,” she said.

“The population had challenges understanding the benefits and the risks when Covid-19 wasn’t very real, but Delta has made it all the more real and all the more important to get vaccination on board.

“Since then, the virus has changed – it has become more transmissible and … we need to adapt. That’s the message we need to get out into the community.”

Professor Macartney said vaccination rates must increase to have any chance of controlling the outbreak.

“We can’t predict how long this embedded transmission of the Delta variant will last in Sydney, but with every tool at our disposal I believe it can be overcome and that is in the interest of the whole nation to make sure we do not have one continuing, long, serious hotspot which poses a risk to the whole country.”

As the Delta threat grows more severe in Greater Sydney, the NSW government has opened up AZ vaccinations for younger people to help lift rates in these demographics. The vaccine is now available at more than 90 pharmacies in west and southwest Sydney, as well as from NSW Health clinics and mass vaccination hubs from Friday.

Just 11 per cent of people aged 30-35 are fully vaccinated, and the rate is less than 9 per cent for under 30s

Professor Macartney said the two priority groups that need to be vaccinated as a matter of urgency were vulnerable groups most at risk of developing serious outcomes from Covid-19, and younger people who are more likely to be mobile and spread the virus in the community.