New outbreak creates vaccine concern in Australia: – Incomprehensible – VG

It comes after a new outbreak in the state of Victoria has spread to unvaccinated employees at two nursing homes in the city of Melbourne.

In a hearing in the Senate in the capital Canberra on Tuesday, it became clear that less than ten percent of the staff at Australia’s nursing homes are now fully vaccinated, writes the Sydney Morning Herald.

The original goal was to finish vaccinating this group during March and April, and the newspaper Guardian describes the process as characterized by “confusion and delays”.

– That the authorities have not managed to put in place a system to ensure that the employees at the nursing homes are vaccinated is incomprehensible to me, says opposition leader Anthony Albanese.

He is backed by opposition politician Clare O ‘Neil:

“It should frighten any person in this country that the Minister for Elderly Care cannot tell us how many employees in elderly care have been vaccinated,” she said in an interview with Australian ABC on Wednesday morning.

The Ministry of Health, led by Minister for the Elderly Richard Colbeck, says that the figure of ten percent is a minimum figure: It only shows how many employees have been vaccinated at the elderly centers themselves. The employees have also been able to get vaccinated at the GP, at state vaccination centers or so-called pop-up clinics.

They also point out that the AstraZeneca vaccine has put a damper on the authorities: This was Australia’s number one vaccine. It is now only used on people over the age of 50, and the authorities have subsequently entered into additional purchase agreements with Pfizer and Moderna. Several of these vaccines will be delivered in the second half of 2021 and in 2022.

Less than two per cent of Australia’s population is now fully vaccinated:

– Different than what we have seen before

Criticism of the authorities comes in the wake of a sudden outbreak in the state of Victoria. This led to a seven-day shutdown last week, and on Thursday this week it will be decided whether it will be extended further.

There are also fears that the outbreak may have spread to neighboring New South Wales, after an infected person is said to have been camping here.

It is the Delta variant of the coronavirus, formerly referred to as the “Indian variant”, that is causing concern. For the first time, Australia is experiencing people who do not know each other being infected, writes ABC.

– What we see now is that people walk past each other in a small shop, they look at phones. This is quite fluid contact. They do not know each other’s names. It is very different from what we have seen before, says Jeroen Weimar, who is responsible for testing in Victoria, to the channel.

On Wednesday morning, six new cases of infection were reported in the state, and the total number of active cases of infection is now 67, writes the Sydney Morning Herald.

– Made it clear to people why we have the vaccine

The outbreak has led to heated debate over Australia’s vaccine strategy.

For while strict boundary restrictions has kept the virus in check, vaccine deployment has been slow. Today, anyone over the age of 50 can register to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine, while those between the ages of 40 and 49 can receive Pfizer. Vaccination is not yet open to younger people, with the exception of vulnerable groups and indigenous peoples.

So far, people have not gone out of their way to book a vaccination class, but after the outbreak began, vaccination rates in the state of Victoria have risen sharply. writes Australian ABC. Other states have also reported increased demand for the latest outbreak.

“The outbreak has made it clear to people why we have the vaccine,” Chris Moy, head of the Australian Medical Association, told the channel.

He believes there has been a clear shift in people’s attitudes towards the vaccines. In a reality where both cases of infection and restrictions have been virtually absent, many have thought that they might as well wait with the vaccine, or that they do not need to take it at all.

– People have been extremely satisfied with the situation, and thought that this could last forever, that we can keep covid away forever by doing what we do now, he says.

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