Thanks to the outstanding effort of everyone in Brisbane, our first Coronavirus update for 2021 is an optimistic one, in that we hope to put Coronavirus behind us by the end of this year. Mass vaccination for COVID19 in Brisbane will be a key step to ending COVID
social distancing restrictions, reducing infections and minimising the Coronavirus death toll.
Due to the efforts of thousands of researchers across the world, Queensland is now in a position to start the Coronavirus vaccination program from February 2021. Growlife Medical is well prepared to provide COVID19 vaccinations in Brisbane, and we will be using this guide to keep you updated on the progress of the Coronavirus immunisation program, just like we did at the start of the COVID outbreak in Brisbane with our leading
Guide to Coronavirus in Brisbane. We have written this blog to answer any questions you might have about the Coronavirus vaccine, when it will be available, what are the risks, benefits and side effects, how much it will cost, and how effective the COVID19 vaccine is.
As a reminder, if you are experiencing Coronavirus symptoms including fever, sore throat, runny nose, cough or shortness of breath, please book a
Telehealth Consult with Growlife Medical
as soon as possible.
Planning on attending for a COVID Vaccination? Watch our Briefing:
Coronavirus Vaccine Update
Coronavirus vaccines are available in Brisbane since March 2021. Australia’s National COVID19 roll-out strategy was published on 7 January 2021, shortly after Queensland Health requested expressions of interest to provide mass vaccination sites across Brisbane and regional Queensland. This was followed by a national expression of interest for COVID vaccination in late January 2021. Growlife Medical are actively participating in preparations for the COVID immunisation program, and intend to provide Coronavirus vaccine to our community as soon as it becomes available.
Many people are concerned about the speed of the COVID vaccine roll-out. They have questions about whether the vaccine has been tested sufficiently to ensure it is safe and effective. As Australia has been in a good position in terms of COVID case numbers, we have been able to benefit by observing how the vaccine has performed in the northern hemisphere, where the roll-out has been necessarily more urgent. Read on to understand how this is good news for Australians.
When Can I Get The Coronavirus Vaccine?
The federal government has broken the Coronavirus vaccination program into phases, in order to prioritise key workers and at-risk populations. We will provide exact dates for these phases here as soon as they are confirmed by government. The COVID19 vaccination phases are planned as follows:
Phase 1
a) An initial 1.4 million doses are planned for Quarantine and Border workers, health care workers who are at highest risk (eg. Those working in an emergency department), aged care and disability staff and residents. We believe this program will begin by using the Pfizer Vaccine, and may be augmented by the University of Oxford/Astra Zeneca vaccine.
b) The second part of Phase 1 is earmarked to provide 14.8 million doses to those at highest risk of severe disease, including those aged 70 and over, those with underlying medical conditions, critical workers like police and fire services, and other healthcare workers. Growlife Medical will be commencing at phase 1b, and those with high priority conditions will be contacted personally to attend a dedicated advance clinic.
Phase 2
a) Once the initial highest risk groups are vaccinated in order to protect them, and those they care for, vaccination will gradually be made available to all Australians. The first group in Phase 2 will be those aged over 50, adult Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people who have not already been vaccinated, and other critical workers.
b) The balance of adults who have not yet received a vaccine will be eligible in the final phase.
Phase 3
Because the vaccine has not yet been tested in children, phase 3 will include all those under age 18 once the clinical trials have been completed to prove it is safe and effective.
Note all
Coronavirus vaccines being pursued by the Australian Government, those being University of Oxford/Astra Zeneca, Pfizer and Novavax vaccines, will involve two doses, with the current General Practice program spacing the doses by 12 weeks to achieve maximum effectiveness. It is important anyone receiving the COVID vaccine returns to the same clinic to receive their second dose to ensure a complete vaccination schedule
Coronavirus Vaccine Progress
Very early in the Coronavirus crisis, researchers began to investigate and experiment with possible vaccines. The Australian government made bids to secure millions of doses of the potential candidates. Early on, the University of Queensland was looking to be a front runner, but sadly the
UQ vaccine had to be abandoned. By the end of 2020, three vaccines had been rigorously tested and approved for use. Clinical trials measured the effect in over 30,000 people for each vaccine. The main COVID19 vaccines being considered for Australia are produced by Pfizer in the USA and University of Oxford/Astra Zeneca in the UK. By mid January 2021, over 42 million doses of Coronavirus vaccine from all manufacturers have already been administered. Authorities around the world are closely monitoring for any adverse reactions, and so far only a very small number of serious reactions have occurred.
The Federal Governments, State Governments and General Practice are currently working together to ensure robust plans are in place.
Growlife Medical is has been approved to administer the University of Oxford/Astra Zeneca vaccine as soon as doses are delivered to our Brisbane clinics. The Pfizer vaccine must be stored at Ultra Cold temperatures of -80C, so the logistical chain is more complex, and at this stage this vaccine is only being administered to those in phase 1a in major hospitals. The Novavax vaccine is in phase 3 trials as at late January 2021, so it will be some time away.
If you are a registered Growlife Medical patient, and have recorded your email address at our practice, you will receive an email to inform you when we have vaccine available. If you or your family have not yet visited
Growlife Medical, be sure to
Book Now
for an initial visit, so that we can contact you as soon as you’re eligible for an immunisation.
Coronavirus Vaccine Effectiveness Explained
Coronavirus vaccine efficacy is important to the success of the mass immunisation program in Brisbane. There has been much debate about which vaccine is best for COVID, due to differing efficacy between vaccines. There are several important factors when considering COVID vaccine efficacy:
• How effective is the COVID vaccine at preventing severe disease?
• How effective is the COVID vaccine at preventing spread?
• How quickly can we vaccinate a sufficient number of people to reduce the impact of COVID?
• What is the “real world” effectiveness of the vaccine outside of research trials?
• How do the vaccine side effects balance with the risk of the disease?
In clinical trials, researchers have randomised people to receive either a placebo vaccine, or the real vaccine. Both the Pfizer vaccine and University of Oxford/Astra Zeneca vaccine caused an impressive reduction in the number of people diagnosed with COVID. In 5800 people given the University of Oxford/Astra Zeneca vaccine, only 30 developed COVID infection, compared to 101 of 5800 who received placebo. Importantly, of the 10 severe cases of COVID causing death or hospitalisation, none occurred in those receiving the vaccine. On paper, the Pfizer vaccine performed even better, with only 8 COVID infections in 18200 vaccinated, compared to 162 infections in the placebo group. So far no direct comparison has been done between the available vaccines.
So far, we don’t know if the available vaccines
prevent spread of Coronavirus . Researchers continue to investigate this question.
The most relevant consideration, is how quickly can we vaccinate everyone in Australia, and how will the vaccine perform in Australian conditions? We believe that vaccines stored at standard refrigerator temperatures may be better candidates here, as it uses traditional technology with a proven distribution chain in Australia. At Growlife Medical, GPs are very experienced in managing the cold chain requirements, to ensure that the vaccine given to you is of the quality you would expect. The Pfizer vaccine has some significant challenges, as it must be stored at the ultra-cold temperature of -80C. Although the headline figure for the Pfizer vaccine looks more appealing, it may be that once logistics and storage are taken into account, it may perform similarly in a real-world environment to the University of Oxford/Astra Zeneca vaccine.
We don't advocate either vaccine over the other, as all vaccines approved for use in Australia have demonstrated effectiveness. The best COVID vaccine is the one suitable for you as an individual, and that is most readily available. Should evidence change in the future, there is always the opportunity to have a booster dose with an alternative vaccine down the track.
The chart below gives a clear representation of how many people developed COVID (red figures) or severe COVID (hospitalised or died - black figures) in the placebo group vs the vaccine group. Each figure represents 10 people, with each group having 5800 people.
We know which group we would rather be in!
Not Convinced? What happens when we open our borders?
Remember, the above chart is after only a few months of collecting data. With opening borders, and COVID spreading over time, more and more people will contract COVID. We have modelled what might happen if a large percentage of the Australian population contracted COVID where everyone has been vaccinated, compared to without the COVID vaccine. The graphic below shows how compelling the potential benefits of being vaccinated against COVID in that scenario:
Coronavirus Vaccine Side Effects
As with all vaccinations, side effects are to be expected to the Coronavirus vaccine. Side effects occur commonly, due to the immune system being activated by the vaccine, in order to give you immunity. Side effects of COVID19 vaccination are usually mild and may include:
• tenderness, swelling and/or redness at the injection site
• headache
• muscle ache
• feeling tired
• fever
• Sometimes, swelling of the glands occurs a few days after the vaccine and may last for up to two weeks.
Because of the large number of vaccinations now done worldwide (
over 250 million doses by early March 2021 ), we are beginning to understand if there are any rare side effects or issues not detected in the initial trials. For example, there have been a few reports of very elderly, frail nursing home residents dying in Norway. It is believed these people may have died of unrelated conditions due to their underlying health, rather than the vaccine. The fact that it has been observed, allows further investigation around any potentially vulnerable groups. For the rest of the adult population, the news is good, with extremely few serious reactions reported, despite the intense scrutiny of this new vaccine.
The most significant rare but serious side effect concern regards a rare type of blood clot syndrome called thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome in those given the Astra Zeneca vaccine. This side effect is so rare, only two cases have been reported in Australia by mid April 2021. Because this side effect is so rare (effecting somewhere around 1 in 250,000 people vaccinated), there is still significant debate around the role of the vaccine in causing the cases, who is most at risk, and the exact level of risk. It is believed that younger people are more at risk of this complication, and that around 1 in 1,000,000 people vaccinated could die of this complication. Consequently, Australian immunisation body
ATAGI released a statement recommending careful consideration of choice of covid vaccine in under 50's. The Astra Zeneca vaccine may still be offered to those under 50, with careful consideration of the relative risks and benefits.
It is important to keep this rare, but serious risk in perspective. 1 in 23,000 Australian's die each year in road accidents.
For those aged 30-50 who contract COVID-19, the risk of death climbs from around 1 in 10,000 to 1 in 1,000 . Because Australia is relatively COVID-free at present, infection risk is currently lower. But that could change.
Those under 50 at higher risk of COVID and its complications may still consider being vaccinated. Those in the following groups should consider their own risk:
- Healthcare workers
- Hotel Quarantine Workers
- Anyone required to travel overseas
- Those with underlying conditions making them at higher risk of COVID complications
In the trial represented in the chart above, there were only two significant reactions thought to be due to the injection - one in the vaccine group, and one in the placebo group. So the rate of significant reactions was so low, it can't even be represented in the chart above.
Clearly, COVID is very dangerous; millions of people have died. When it comes to the COVID vaccine, we haven't been able to detect enough significant reactions to even come close. Consequently, doctors who choose to consult at Growlife are feeling very comfortable that the COVID vaccination is much safer for over 50's than risking COVID, and think it should still be considered for those under 50, after discussing the relative risks and benefits for the individual.
How Long Will Coronavirus Vaccines Last?
Due to the rapid timeline between vaccine development and release, we do not yet know how long the immune response will last from the Coronavirus vaccine. Ongoing observation should give us the answer to this question in future.
Can I have a COVID Vaccination with the Flu Vaccination?
The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation recommends that healthcare professionals do not routinely schedule and administer the influenza and COVID-19 vaccine on the same day. The preferred minimum timeframe between these vaccines is 14 days.
Coronavirus Vaccine Cost
The coronavirus vaccine is being provided free to all Australians by the federal government. Growlife Medical will bulk bill the vaccine administration to Medicare. Note that due to the large numbers of people requiring the Coronavirus vaccination, you may not see the doctor for the vaccination, and any other healthcare matters must be booked for a separate appointment. It is essential that you attend for the followup vaccination with Growlife Medical, and we will have rigorous reminder procedures in place to ensure this occurs.
Coronavirus Vaccine At Growlife Medical
