AstraZeneca
Firstly, let me say that I have had the AstraZeneca vaccine, albeit with extreme reluctance.
It is fact that the AstraZeneca vaccine does not give you the same level of immunity as other vaccines, but it is the only vaccine we are allowed to have. If that isn't age discrimination I don't know what is. We are already in a vulnerable age group and this vulnerability is being compounded by not having any choice of vaccine.
We have relatives and friends in England, Europe and America, so like to keep up with all the international news. Everyone abroad is amazed that we are only allowed to have the one vaccine.
At the moment we are dealing with the Delta variant. The Beta variant, that started in South Africa, has now spread to Europe and it is only a matter of time before it reaches the UK and ultimately Australia. We are all aware of how each new strain travels the world.
The AstraZeneca vaccine is not effective against this Beta strain. AstraZeneca are aware of this and have been working, since October last year, on a booster shot to make the vaccine effective against this variant. If the Beta variant arrives here before the AstraZeneca vaccine has been improved then we will all be "sitting ducks" as we do not have other vaccines.
A friend, and one relative in the UK, received the AstraZeneca vaccine, before it was associated with causing blood clots. They have both now been told that they must have another vaccine, of a completely different type, so that when the Beta variant hits they will have some immunity.
Whatever your political persuasion it seems to me that in the middle of a global pandemic, a PM that doesn't order every single type of vaccine available, and in sufficient quantitities to vaccinate every single Australian, is either grossly incompetent and or grossly stupid!
Grand Mufti gets vaccinatedThe Grand Mufti of Australia, Dr Mohammed, received his COVID-19 vaccination this week.(
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The Grand Mufti of Australia, Ibrahim Abu Mohammed, has released a video of his COVID-19 vaccination.
Dr Mohammed said in the video, posted on YouTube, that he hopes all people in the Muslim community see how rumours about the doses not being halal are false.
"I have no issues with the vaccine," he said in the short clip.
"It is one of the scientific breakthroughs and one of Allah's gifts."
Dr Muhammed and other leading figures in the Muslim community have received their jab as the vaccination efforts for Sydney's western and south-western suburbs continues.
Another illegal church gathering in Sydney:
Fines are not enough....they should be made to spend a lengthy lockdown in the church. Bar the doors and let them feel what innocent people are feeling.
Trial data from AstraZeneca (AZN.L) on Friday raised the prospect of a new treatment to prevent COVID-19 beyond vaccines, giving hope in particular for people who respond poorly to immunisation shots.
The British drugmaker said its new antibody therapy reduced the risk of people developing any COVID-19 symptoms by 77% in a late-stage trial.
While vaccines rely on an intact immune system to develop an arsenal of targeted antibodies and infection-fighting cells, AstraZeneca's AZD7442 therapy consists of lab-made antibodies that are designed to linger in the body for months to stifle the coronavirus in case of an infection.
The company said that 75% of the participants in the trial for the therapy - which comprises two types of antibodies discovered by Vanderbilt University Medical Center in the United States - had chronic conditions including some with a lower immune response to vaccinations.
Similar therapies made with a drug class called monoclonal antibodies are being developed by Regeneron (REGN.O), Eli Lilly (LLY.N) and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK.L) with partner Vir (VIR.O), competing for a role in COVID treatment and prevention.
Similar therapies made with a drug class called monoclonal antibodies are being developed by Regeneron (REGN.O), Eli Lilly (LLY.N) and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK.L) with partner Vir (VIR.O), competing for a role in COVID treatment and prevention.
But AstraZeneca is first to publish positive prevention trial data in the field and is now targeting conditional approval in major markets well before the end of the year, aiming to produce roughly 1 to 2 million doses by then.
Let me reiterate, I have been vaccinated with the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Sophie, you make the point regarding an unvaccinated person taking up an ICU bed, and to a certain extent I agree. However, I would be equally as angry if a bed was taken up by an injured drunk driver, or someone with a drug overdose.
I truly believe that the anti-vaxxers are a very small minority. Being anti AstraZeneca is not the same as being an anti-vaxxer.
Australia has such a low vaccination rate because of initial supply shortages and vaccine rollout mismanagement. There are still very large numbers of people trying to book appointments to get vaccinated, with some even prepared to queue, sometimes for hours, just to get vaccinated.