Australia Twitter: Covid-19 in Australia

Showing posts with label Covid-19 in Australia. Show all posts

Sunday, April 4, 2021

'Troublemaker for the next surge': Top doctor warns of new COVID-19 virus killing the young in their thousands

As COVID-19 vaccines are rolled out around the world, a top doctor is warning of a new virus strain that is killing the young in their thousands.

Brazil is swamped by new virus cases, with a warning to Australia that this variant is far more dangerous than anything seen before.

The new variant has overwhelmed the country to the point gravediggers are exhuming old tombs to make space for the more than 300,000 dead.

"The entire country has no ICU beds left. The deaths are soaring exponentially … like through the roof," Dr Eric Liang Feigl-Ding, an epidemiologist from Harvard, told 9News.

Dr Feigl-Ding was one of the first epidemiologists to raise the alarm that COVID-19 was heading towards a pandemic in January 2020.

Julia Gillard urges Australians to set any reservations aside and get jabbed

Julia Gillard has had her coronavirus jab, urging everyone – and particularly women – to get vaccinated.

The former prime minister joined Health Minister Greg Hunt and Department of Health secretary Brendan Murphy to be among the first to receive the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccination at a Melbourne clinic on Sunday.

More Australians to get home with expansion of Howard Springs

The Howard Springs quarantine centre in the Northern Territory will more than double its capacity over the coming months as the Morrison government faces calls from Victoria and Queensland to open two new facilities in their states.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced on Friday that the quarantine facility near Darwin will expand to 2000 returned Australians a fortnight, up from 850, by late April.

London: Italy has vowed to reject more vaccine exports and France has threatened to join the blockade, as European officials scramble to justify the decision to ban a shipment of 250,000 doses to Australia.

Trade Minister Dan Tehan discussed the standoff with his Brussels counterpart Valdis Dombrovskis on Friday night but the European Commission has no plans to step back from its dispute with the British-Swedish pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca.

National EpiPen shortage exacerbated by COVID-19 pandemic, experts say

Families are being forced to fork out for children's EpiPens, as chemists warn of nation-wide medication shortages.

The devices normally have an 18-month life span - but they are in short supply due to the pandemic.

It means parents are forced to purchase more frequently with some spending more than $100 for those with a four-month shelf life.

Australia's first AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine jabs begin today

Australia has reached its second vaccine milestone with the country's first AstraZeneca COVID-19 jabs to be poked into South Australian arms today.

The community of Murray Bridge will lead the nation in the rollout of the new vaccine with one thousand doses arriving into regional South Australia today.

A frontline health worker in the town will become the first person in the country to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine.

EU blocks export of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines to Australia

The European Commission and Italy have blocked a shipment of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine destined for Australia after the pharmaceutical company did not fulfil its European Union contract commitments, sources said on Thursday.

It is the first time the EU has employed an export control mechanism it set up to ensure drug manufacturers respect their contracts.

The sources said AstraZeneca had reportedly requested authorization from the Italian government to export some 250,000 doses from its Anagni plant, close to Rome. The site is owned by US group Catalent.

COVID-19: Italy and EU block Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine shipment to Australia as shortages row escalates

The British-Swedish drug manufacturer had failed to meet its EU contract commitments so the Italian government refused its request to export 250,000 doses from its Anagni plant near Rome.

Italy made the request and it was signed off by the European Commission under a new export control system that came into law on 30 January. This is the first time it has been used by a member state.

South Australia to get first AstraZeneca virus vaccines

South Australians will be the first in the nation to receive the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine.

Around 300,000 doses of the jab arrived in Australia on Sunday and Prime Minister Scott Morrison says they have been “batch-tested” and approved for use.

They are being distributed to the states, with SA to be the first on Friday.

International borders to remain closed for a further three months

Australians hoping to get back overseas will have to wait it out a little longer, with international borders to remain closed until at least June 2021.

Health Minister Greg Hunt confirmed the three-month extension to border closures on Tuesday, in a devastating blow to the thousands of Australians who remain stranded overseas.

Mr Hunt said the decision to extend the ban on international trave was based on medical advice.

New Russian variant of COVID-19 detected in Queensland hotel quarantine

Passengers aboard a Qatar Airways flight that landed in Brisbane last month will have their quarantine period extended after it was revealed several people on board tested positive for the Russian strain of coronavirus.

Due to be released from isolation today, all 74 passengers will have their quarantine period extended for a further five days as authorities investigate and organise additional testing.

Returned travellers have Brisbane hotel quarantine stay extended after Russian COVID-19 variant scare

Passengers and crew on an international flight that arrived in Brisbane last month have been forced to extend their hotel quarantine stay after several cases of the Russian COVID-19 variant were detected.

Queensland Health confirmed to 7NEWS.com.au that two cases of the B1.1.317 variant were recorded among passengers on Qatar Airways flight QR898, which arrived from Doha on February 17.

New Russian COVID variant on the loose in Queensland

New variant of COVID-19 is on the loose in Queensland, forcing dozens of travellers to extend their stay in hotel quarantine.

At least 74 passengers and crew who arrived in Brisbane on a Qatar Airways flight QR898 from Doha on February 17 will now remain in quarantine until Monday, March 8, after two cases of the B1.1.317 variant — or Russian strain — were recorded.

They’ll also undergo additional testing, with a letter from Metro North Hospital and Health Service to the passengers confirming the coronavirus infections “occurred later in the 14-day quarantine period”.

‘We are not paying that bill’: Queensland holds PM to ransom for quarantine hub

Queensland will refuse to cough up cash it owes New South Wales for hotel quarantine stays until Prime Minister Scott Morrison approves a proposed pop-up quarantine hub near Toowoomba.

The quarantine mega-hub on the outskirts of Toowoomba, which would be built and paid for by local construction firm Wagners, needs federal government approval to go ahead.

Applying pressure on Mr Morrison to move ahead on the pitch, Deputy Premier Steven Miles said the Queensland government would refuse to pay a $30 million quarantine bill issued by NSW until the federal government allowed repatriation flights to land at Toowoomba’s Wellcamp Airport.

Mr Miles said his state was “stepping up where the Commonwealth have failed” by proposing the national quarantine facility in southern Queensland.

Doctor who administered incorrect dose of COVID-19 vaccine had not been trained

The doctor who administered incorrect doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to two aged care residents in Queensland had not completed the compulsory vaccination training.

Health Minister Greg Hunt has asked the Department of Health to take action against the doctor and Healthcare Australia, the company tasked with providing vaccinations within aged care facilities.

The aged care provider that runs the Brisbane facility where the incident occurred said they will also report the doctor to the medical regulator.

Mr Hunt on Wednesday morning said the doctor had trained in Australia, was registered with the medical regulator and had undertaken the necessary COVID vaccination training.

Aged care residents miss out on COVID-19 vaccine in regional Victoria

Victorian aged care resident Kenneth McMahon was supposed to get the COVID-19 vaccine today, but missed out due to an administration error.

Mr McMahon, 91, who resides at Benetas Aged Care in Kangaroo Flat, says the last year through the pandemic has been tough.

Marissa DuBois in Slow Motion Full Fashion Week 2023, Fashion Channel Vlog,

Sunday, April 4, 2021

'Troublemaker for the next surge': Top doctor warns of new COVID-19 virus killing the young in their thousands

Sunday, March 7, 2021