Novel Coronavirus COVID-19 (nCoV-2019)

[tayser]

Yep. They are relying solely on AZ and wishful thinking at this point.

They are not expecting full vaccination for majority of aussies until December which is bizzare. I was noticing a 28 year old Australian reporter on twitter promoting her FIRST dose of AZ because of all the hesitancy there to get vaccinated.

I feel bad for them because honestly they are so backwards in terms of this pandemic. The more I read about Australia's handling of the pandemic, the more I realise they are f***ed.

26,000 deaths in Canada and counting...... versus under 1000 for us. Over a million cases in Canada versus 30,000 in Australia and all that long COVID that'll be impacting the health system for who knows how long.

If that's backwards to you then... hey, whatever floats your boat.

We aren't solely relying on AZ, we have Pfizer and Moderna coming but we're down the list of priorities because certain North American and European countries have been hogging all the supply.

Doesn't help we have an incompetent and now-we-know-really-damn-complacent (when it comes to ordering vaccines) Liberal/National coalition (right-wing) government that even before COVID was long in the tooth and is going on 8-9 years / 3 parliamentary terms now.

 

[tayser]

Yes but you can't isolate without unleashing other problems.

Isolate your country for too long and you trash your economy. Open it up to save the economy and you risk bringing in a case of the virus which is what happened to Australia.

That case multiplies, more people get sick and next thing you know there are hundreds of new cases.

The reality is they were banking on isolation and border controls to be the panacea in all of this.

They likely thought that given their location on earth they could Isolate themselves until this blew over. The pandemic dragged on for longer than expected and they didn't have any plans for vaccines.

Now it is too late to be put in priority queue for vaccines and they are up the creek in an overturned canoe.

Isolating ourselves from the rest of the world has seen a peculiar thing happen: money that would have been spent overseas has been spent in the local economy. It's stimulus that doesn't involve handouts from the government: it's private cash flowing more local and it's credited in giving us the fast V-shaped recovery we've hand.

The reality you talk of is only a reality in your head.

mRNA vaccines will start arriving onshore a lot faster next month (reportedly double) and then faster again in September.

Our incompetent Federal government now has a plan for a plan with gaps to be filled - namely % vaccinated thresholds - to open everything back up.

The current state of play of vaccines in AU:

AZ only recommended for 60+ (it was 50+ for a few months, but that's changed recently). The first big wave of second doses in really elderly is underway now.
AZ available to anyone under 60 but you have to give informed consent via a GP.
mRNA vaccines are recommended for under 60s. We currently get about 350k doses a week, going to 600-700k doses in August and then higher again in September.
mRNA (pfizer) currently only available to 40-59 cohort.

 

[gabe]

Friends of mine in BC are posting selfies shopping maskless. As BC scrapped the mask mandate.

Face masks are no longer required in public indoor areas as of July 1, but they are still recommended for people 12 or older who are not yet fully vaccinated. Proof of vaccination is not required, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry confirmed Tuesday.

B.C. drops COVID-19 mask order, recommended until full vaccination - Abbotsford News

B.C. sees only 29 new cases Tuesday, seven in Fraser Health

www.abbynews.com

https://twitter.com/x/status/1410933253117288453

 

[vic]

It really doesn't bother me to wear a mask for a while when I'm indoors, or for most of a workday on the days when I go in. I'm not in that much of a rush to get rid of masking yet, if we can avoid more closures/lockdowns/etc.

 

[DSC]

Ontario is reporting 209 cases of #COVID19 and nearly 17,100 tests completed

 

[W. K. Lis]

Almost all guests at Sydney (Australia) birthday party test positive for Covid, except for six fully vaccinated people​

Incident shows ‘just how important vaccinations are’, says health minister​

From link.

In a warning to Australians about the importance of getting vaccinated, the government says a large majority of guests at a recent birthday party in New South Wales got infected with Covid – while those who had their jabs remained safe.

The party that took place on 19 June in West Hoxton, Sydney has been dubbed a super-spreader event after testing showed 24 unvaccinated guests contracted the Delta variant of the virus.

Australia still has low rates of vaccination, with only about 5 per cent of the population fully protected with two doses. The party was attended by six healthcare workers – all of whom were fully vaccinated – who did not become infected.

One other guest – a care worker who was partially vaccinated – also tested negative for the virus.

Brad Hazzard, the health minister for New South Wales state, told reporters the incident demonstrates “just how important vaccinations are”.

The care worker was “elderly and despite only having received one dose by the time of the party, did not contract Covid-19,” according to Mr Hazzard.

He said that the situation was still “unfolding” and that “early and strong indication from that party is that if you’re vaccinated you are much more likely to not be infected with Covid-19.”

Dr Kerry Chant, the state’s chief health officer, told 7 News that an asymptomatic guest unknowingly spread the virus throughout the party. She added that had the six guests not been vaccinated, it’s possible that the infection rate at the party could have been 100 per cent.

An additional seven cases have been linked to this party, according to news channel ABC.

Dr Chant said the infected guests were isolated. “We got to this group very quickly.” He added that they likely had only 24 hours during which they could have spread the virus in the community.

In an attempt to curb the spread, New South Wales is under a stay-at-home order. The 31 cases linked to the birthday party are just one cluster in the outbreak affecting Sydney. There are currently 170 active cases in the state.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1409505094203215878

Australia was among the best in the world in controlling the pandemic within its borders in the first year of the outbreak, but was later criticised for not acquiring vaccines quickly. The highly contagious Delta variant is driving the country’s recent outbreak, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported.

There have been fewer than 31,000 cases and 910 deaths across the country.

WGN TV reported that in a bid to jumpstart vaccination numbers, the government has agreed to offer the AstraZeneca vaccin

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

Yes having my second shot next week!

AoD

 

[Admiral Beez]

At 209, cases in ON still higher than pre-vaccine July 3, 2020 when we had 165. We can’t really claim victory until we’re at least better than a year ago.

 

[Richard White]

At 209, cases in ON still higher than pre-vaccine July 3, 2020 when we had 165. We can’t really claim victory until we’re at least better than a year ago.

I would not say we are in the clear until we are hitting less than 50 cases for a week straight.

 

[APTA-2048]

At 209, cases in ON still higher than pre-vaccine July 3, 2020 when we had 165. We can’t really claim victory until we’re at least better than a year ago.

What was the positivity rate last year? I think that’s a better way to measure.

 

[DSC]

Cases still hovering around 200. Ontario is reporting 213 cases of #COVID19 and nearly 19,000 tests completed.

Positivity 1.46, (7 day average is 1.56)

 

[Northern Light]

What was the positivity rate last year? I think that’s a better way to measure.

Numbers were far better last July 4th.

In 2020, on this day, Ontario reported

121 new cases
39 people in ICU
Positivity ~0.6%

In 2021:

213 new cases
235 people in ICU
Positivity 1.3%

ICU declined by 8 overnight.

Were that pace maintained, it would take another 25 days to get to below last year's ICU level at this time.

There have been days with larger drops, and I would be hopeful of a quicker pace.

 

[Jonny5]

The number of Canadians with at least one dose appears to be heading for a flat-line at 70%, or 80% if you exclude children under 12 years old.
That's quite a large block left unprotected, and that block appears to be highly concentrated in the 20-40 year-old age range.
It's worrisome that many will interact, either directly or indirectly, with a similarly unprotected group of the same size and age from the US when travel restrictions are lifted.

 

[gabe]

I get my second shot in two weeks, my boyfriend is getting his next week. I know a lot of people are booking trips out of province and out of country right now. We will be fully vaccinated but we are saying put till next year. I honestly don’t feel comfortable traveling anywhere right now.

I guess I'm not the only one.

Canadian flight bookings among lowest levels in the world: report

While countries around the world see domestic travel return to pre-pandemic levels, Canadian travellers are staying home, despite surging vaccination levels.

ca.finance.yahoo.com

 

[Richard White]

The number of Canadians with at least one dose appears to be heading for a flat-line at 70%, or 80% if you exclude children under 12 years old.
That's quite a large block left unprotected, and that block appears to be highly concentrated in the 20-40 year-old age range.
It's worrisome that many will interact, either directly or indirectly, with a similarly unprotected group of the same size and age from the US when travel restrictions are lifted.

Personally, I have found that the problem lies with 18-25 year old's who either think they are invincible, or that they don't need to be vaccinated because none of their friends have got Covid-19..

These people will not get vaccinated unless they have to but unfortunately our government does not have the cojones to force the issue.