The death of the woman in her 40s has prompted the Therapeutic Goods Administration and NSW Health officials to seek clinical information and test results as they try to figure out what caused it. It is believed the woman was a diabetic but otherwise in good health. It is unclear if she received the vaccine because she was a healthcare worker, essential worker or a vulnerable Australian, with only limited access for under-70s in the current point in the rollout.“It has not yet been established whether there is any link between the COVID-19 vaccine and the tragic death reported by NSW health officials,” the federal health department said in a statement on Thursday. On Friday morning Ms Berejiklian did a round of interviews on morning shows and said she wasn’t privy to any more information about the case than the public was. “I know as much as you do,” she told the host of the Today show. “All I do know is that the federal authorities are looking into these matters to see if there is that link. And in the meantime we just extend our heartfelt condolences to the family and loved ones during this difficult time.”Appearing on the Sunrise program moments later, Ms Berejiklian said she will update the public as soon as more information becomes available.“I want to assure everybody that whenever we get information that is relevant, we always make sure we convey it as soon as we can, but there’s nothing further we have to update,” she said.“We’re relying on the federal authorities (to say) if there is a link or not, whether it’s a horrible coincidence.”That’s out of a total of more than 700,000 people who have received that type of vaccine. A Therapeutic Goods Administration spokesman said it had not been established if there was a link between the COVID-19 vaccine and the woman’s death.“NSW Health has said there is no confirmed link but further investigations are underway,” the spokesman said.The TGA said the blood clotting disorders being investigated in connection with the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine are very rare and differ from common blood clots or venous thromboembolism, which occur in around 50 Australians every day.NED-3619-AstraZeneca blood clots-What we knowThe federal health department said there had been two confirmed cases where Australians who had received the AstraZeneca vaccine had been sickened with a rare blood clotting disorder known as thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome or TTS. In the UK, where the vaccine rollout has come much further, the ratio of blood clotting cases to jabs is even smaller. At the beginning of the month the BBC reported that only 30 blood clotting cases had been reported out of a total of 18 million Astra Zeneca vaccine recipients. Despite the low risk, the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) advised the federal government last week that the AstraZeneca vaccine should mainly be given to people over 50.Younger people can still get the vaccine, but the consent procedures around the risk of side effects will be updated. The advice threw the Scott Morrison government’s vaccine plans into disarray and prompted the Prime Minister to scrap an October target to have the entire willing population vaccinated, saying the situation is too volatile to commit to a timeline. Mr Morrison bet heavily on the AstraZeneca vaccine and has ordered more than 50 million doses of the product, most of which will be made locally in Victoria. The Pfizer-made vaccine that is considered safer has not been available in large enough quantities to meet Australia’s needs. But the Prime Minister has put orders in for some 40 million doses that the government hopes will arrive by the end of the year. NED-3602-AstraZeneca-Side-EffectsMILLIONS OF AUSSIES ON COVID ALERTVictoria has recorded zero community cases of COVID-19 for the 49th day in a row. The donut figure was repeated in hotel quarantine, where zero new cases were detected.It comes after yesterday’s spike which saw five new COVID-19 cases in hotel quarantine, the largest number since Victoria reopened its border to returning international travellers. It brought the total to eight active cases in the state’s hotel quarantine system.More than 14,000 tests returned a negative result while state health services administered 3,265 vaccine doses. It comes as millions of Melburnians are being urged to monitor for symptoms of the coronavirus after viral fragments were detected in a “large catchment” that services the city’s northern, western and eastern suburbs. Traces of COVID-19 have also been detected in another catchment in Melbourne’s south east. In a statement, the Department of Health said the “unexpected detections” could be due to a person or persons with the virus being in the early active infectious phase.Or it could be because they were continuing to shed the virus after the infectious period, they said. “While it is possible that these detections are due to a visitor or visitors to these areas who are not infectious, a cautious approach is being taken,” the statement read. People who live in or have visited the following areas should monitor for COVID-19 symptoms and get tested if any develop:North, west and eastern suburbs from 4 to 12 April. This detection is in a very large catchment that services suburbs stretching from Melbourne’s northwest to the outer northeast. Cranbourne and surrounding suburbs from 6 to 12 AprilThese two new detections come after residents in about 16 suburbs were warned earlier in the week about similar wastewater discoveries. “Coronavirus fragments have been detected in wastewater from the Ringwood area,” the Victorian Department of Health said in a statement just before 6pm on Tuesday.The east Melbourne suburbs affected include Bayswater, Bayswater North, Boronia, Croydon, Croydon North, Croydon South, Heathmont, Kilsyth, Kilsyth South, Montrose, Ringwood, Ringwood East, Sassafras, The Basin, Tremont and Wantirna.NED-3614-Pfizer-Side-EffectsMASS VACCINATIONS PLANMeanwhile, Mr Morrison has flagged “mass vaccination options” for Australians aged under 50, saying it may be possible that people in that age group could be immunised by the end of the year.The Prime Minister said the rollout “has to change because of events” linked to the rare blood clots associated with the AstraZeneca vaccine in under 50s.“That will mean we’ll need to change our rollout to go to mass vaccination options and that will have to be done in partnership with the states and territories,” Mr Morrison told The West Live podcast.“If we can do all that, then there is the possibility that can be achieved by the end of 2021 but at this stage there are too many uncertainties I think to commit to a timetable like that, I would need and states would need to be sure they could put those arrangements in place and ramp them up and to do that safely with the population to achieve that.”Mr Morrison downplayed concerns surrounding the AstraZeneca vaccine, saying there was a “remote risk” associated with the jab, but acknowledged the pause will “change how we do the rollout”. During a press conference on Wednesday, the Prime Minister said, “the critical thing right now is we must be vaccinating those most vulnerable in our community.” He continued, ”I want to stress, particularly those Australians aged over 70, AstraZeneca is a safe and approved vaccine for people aged over 50. The risk to elderly Australians and vulnerable Australians of COVID is great if there is an outbreak.”The race to vaccinate: Australia v the WorldNOVAVAX SHORTAGES ANNOUNCEDNovavax has announced supply shortages have forced it to push back its production target of 150 million COVID-19 vaccine doses per month.The delay serves another blow to the federal government’s vaccine rollout program, with Australia ordering 51 millions doses of Novavax.The order was due to arrive in “mid-2021” but that’s now up in the air.“We said during our earnings call that we expect all capacity to be online by around mid-year. We’re continuing to refine that timing as we get closer, which now leads us to think we’re online/at full capacity by Q3,” Novavax communications director Amy Speak told the ABC.“There are some supply shortages that come and go that have contributed to the revision in timing. These have included things like the bioreactor bags and filters.”Novavax is expected to get the green light from the UK’s medical regulator as early as this month after releasing positive UK test data. It will be manufactured locally in the UK but Australia will need to import the vaccine.QLD LIFTS RESTRICTIONSMasks will no longer be mandatory, dancing will return, and visits will resume to aged care and disability homes, hospitals and prisons when weeks of tight restrictions in Queensland come to an end on Thursday. Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk made the welcome announcement today, more than two weeks after the state was plunged into a snap three-day lockdown to curb the spread of COVID-19 after two separate clusters emerged from the Princess Alexandra Hospital. At least 19 cases have been linked to the two clusters, which spread after a doctor and nurse at the hospital became infected while treating a returned traveller. Ms Palaszczuk thanked Queenslanders for their “mighty job”. “It has not been easy … But by doing that we’ve kept everyone safe,” she said. “I won’t say there won’t be future cases where we have to wear masks, I don’t know the future, but we are easing restrictions. “(And) Dr Young said there are no issues with easing restrictions from 6am (instead of 12pm).”What will change from 6am Thursday:Masks will no longer be mandatory indoors except at airports, but Queenslanders will be encouraged to carry one and wear it on public transport or where social distancing is not possibleStanding will be allowed at pubs and clubs while eating and drinkingVisitors at private residences will increase to 100Visitors will be permitted at aged care and disability care homes, hospitals and correctional facilitiesDancing at nightclubs and indoor venues will be permittedWeddings and funerals will be allowed to host 200 guestsOutdoors there will be no restrictions on gatheringsTicketed venues and open-air stadiums will be able to return to 100 per cent capacityNED-3596 QFT System ExplainedPM TAKES DRASTIC ACTION OVER VACCINE ROLLOUTThe Prime Minister has demanded the country’s leaders and health authorities ramp back up to a war footing, admitting the failing COVID-19 vaccine program faces “serious challenges”.The country’s jabs rollout has fallen well short of initial expectations, compounded further by blood clotting concerns with the AstraZeneca shot.Scott Morrison will call on national cabinet to recommence regular meetings from Monday in a bid to “get the program back on track”.Last week, it was announced the AstraZeneca jab won’t be offered to Australians under the age of 50 following advice from the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation.This led to Mr Morrison refusing to commit to a timeline for the rollout to be completed after previously ensuring the nation all jabs would be provided by October.“There are serious challenges we need to overcome caused by patchy international vaccine supplies, changing medical advice and a global environment of need caused by millions of COVID-19 cases and deaths,” he said on Tuesday.“This is a complex task and there are problems with the program that we need to solve to ensure more Australians can be vaccinated safely and more quickly.”The state and territory leaders will return to biweekly meetings “until we solve the problems”.“There are issues we are trying to deal with as a federal government and I have been upfront about those,” Mr Morrison said.“But among the states and territories, they are also tackling their own unique issues and working together we are all going to be in a better position to find the best solutions.“We are throwing everything at these issues, uniting the nation to keep the vaccination program safe, to get the rollout right and to be open and transparent about how we are tracking.”The urgent request from the Prime Minister comes after weeks of ongoing hostility over the vaccination program, with federal members accusing state counterparts of stockpiling vaccines.- with Jade Gailberger, Sue Dunlevy, Tiffany Bakker
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