Vax and the City: Every public health official in Australia agrees that mass vaccination is the only way out of this crisis. We at Time Out recommend that you get vaccinated as soon as you can, if that is appropriate for your own health. Please speak to a medical professional about what is right for you. Here's what you need to know about how to get a vaccine right now.
Sydney is currently in the grip of a perfect storm. The speed of the highly transmissible Delta variant of Covid-19 has outpaced the city’s primary defence against the virus, namely its “gold standard” contact tracing, and despite the city being under the strictest lockdown orders to date, the number of daily infections in the community continues to track in the wrong direction. More worrying still, the virus is now circulating among essential workers and in vital retail settings, particularly among people who have, until now, been unable to easily access the vaccine.
Suppressing the current outbreak with lockdowns and contact tracing alone appears to be increasingly unlikely, but the state’s top health experts still have one card left to play: mass vaccinations. And yet, the federal government’s bungled rollout, notably the dual screw-ups of a dwindling Pfizer supply and the ham-fisted messaging that has dangerously undermined trust in AstraZeneca, has left Sydney’s vaccination drive crawling at a snail’s pace.
To address the crisis, following appeals from both the federal government and the Australian Medical Association, the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) has revised its initial position on AstraZeneca, which it had originally advised should be the preferred vaccine for Australians over the age of 60. As of July 25, anyone aged over 18 is now eligible for an AstraZeneca vaccine, with ATAGI now urging all adults in Greater Sydney to “strongly consider the benefits of accessing AstraZeneca” rather than waiting for Pfizer supplies to replenished in September. NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian has said it will be safe to lift all restrictions only when 80 per cent of adults are fully vaccinated.
With an appeal that Pfizer doses be redirected to NSW rebuffed, state and federal officials are now scrambling to rehabilitate the reputation of AstraZeneca, an effective vaccine that has liberated millions of people around the world. AstraZeneca has been linked to an extremely rare blood clotting disorder, which according to government-published statistics occurs in one to two people per 100,000 jabs. Notably, the risk of developing a clot in people aged 18 to 39 is roughly the same as in people aged over 60, for whom the vaccine is considered safe.
Australia has AstraZeneca in plentiful supply as it is synthesised domestically, unlike imported Pfizer, but reports have emerged from around the country painting a dim picture of the way AstraZeneca is perceived even by those for whom it is recommended. A recent report by the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed that more than a quarter of those aged over 70 have refused AstraZeneca, choosing instead to wait for Pfizer. Meanwhile, thousands of AstraZeneca doses are being binned as demand has been steadily eroded. On July 24, NSW health minister Brad Hazzard said that at in one day at one of Sydney’s mass vaccination hubs, 9,000 people had attended to get a Pfizer shot, compared to just 50 for AstraZeneca
Deputy chief medical office Michael Kidd said that the new recommendation of AstraZeneca was specifically aimed at those under 40 as new evidence suggests the Delta strain may cause serious disease in younger people. “It is becoming apparent that the Delta variant may be more severe than the original strain of the virus,” Kidd said. “The proportion of infected people less than 60 years of age requiring hospitalisation now appears to be higher than what was reported in outbreaks with the original strain. So this also reinforces the protection of the benefit with either vaccine.” This was underscored on July 25, when the death of a woman in her late 30s who had no previous medical conditions was reported.
“I think if you are in Sydney at the moment and you are second-guessing having the AstraZeneca vaccine, it doesn’t make sense,” Chris May, vice president of the Australian Medical Association said in a state on July 25. “There is a really incredibly rare chance of getting the blood clotting disorder. And you really should be getting out there and getting [AstraZeneca] as soon as possible. Because not only will you be protecting yourself, but you will be protecting those around you.”