Chief health officer Jeannette Young said the new infections reveal minimal exposure of spread in the community but warned late detection of the cases was a concern and provided an “ongoing risk”.A Brisbane Grammar School student and an Ironside State School student tested positive on day eight and seven of their home isolation period respectively despite both initially returning negative results.“I know how tough this must be for all of those people in home quarantine but it is really important that they maintain for the full 14 days since they have been last exposed to an infectious person,” Dr Young said.“It is critical so as people develop infection who are in those households, at 14 days of quarantine unfortunately starts all over again.”The third infection was a household contact to a known Brisbane Grammar School case.Brisbane’s Delta cluster appears under control and Cairns remains under stay-at-home orders but NSW’s devastating outbreak edged closer to the border after Byron Bay was plunged into lockdown.On Monday, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk warned she would cancel all access across the NSW-Queensland border if the outbreak threatened her state.NED-3869-Covid-19-Exposure-Sites-QldVICTORIA RECORDS 20 NEW CASESVictoria has recorded 20 new locally acquired Covid-19 infections on Tuesday but alarmingly 15 of those were out in the community while infectious.The state’s health department confirmed the new cases about 8.30am, with all linked to existing outbreaks.But the health department said only five of Tuesday’s new cases were in isolation for their entire infectious period, with 15 positive people out in the community.It’s not known how that figure will impact the planned end of lockdown on Thursday night but health authorities said the number of people infectious people in the community would be a factor.There are now more than 12,000 primary close contacts across Victoria as the number of public exposure sites exploded again overnight with 57 new sites taking the total to almost 250.Many of the venues are in Melbourne’s western suburbs, but several sites have been added in Bayswater North, Heidelberg West and Preston. The new exposure sites come after 11 coronavirus infections were recorded on Monday, with the health department revealing only one of those cases was in isolation during their infectious period.Health officials also believe there are undetected positive cases of Covid-19 in the Glenroy and Broadmeadows area after strong, repeat wastewater detections.Anyone who lives, works or has visited Attwood, Broadmeadows, Coolaroo, Essendon Fields, Gladstone Park, Glenroy, Gowanbrae, Greenvale, Jacana, Meadows Heights, Oak Park, Pascoe Vale, Roxburgh Park, Strathmore, Strathmore Heights and Westmeadows between July 28 and August 6 has been urged to monitor for symptoms.The health department said the source of the latest outbreaks still remained a mystery and was under investigation.No new cases were recorded in hotel quarantine on Tuesday, with the number of active cases in the state at 111 – up from 103 on Monday.NED-3869-Covid-19-Exposure-Sites-VictoriaELITE SCHOOLS USE PRIVATE PFIZER HUBS AS MILLIONAIRE SKIPS OUT ON ISOStaff at some of Sydney’s elite private schools have been able to access the Pfizer vaccine through internal programs, while teachers in some of the city’s worst-hit areas remain unvaccinated.A on-site clinic has been established at Pymble Ladies’ College in the upper north shore, after a local GP contacted the principal offering to keep aside Pfizer doses so they could be given to teachers, The Australian reports.The excess doses, which were offered following a large shipment of Pfizer vaccines, have allowed all staff aged 40-59 to be given the opportunity to get vaccinated.Barker College in Hornsby has also leant on a relationship with a neighbouring medical centre. Thirty per cent of its staff are now fully vaccinated against Covid, while 60 per cent are partly vaccinated.And at Knox Grammar School, private Pfizer vaccinations have been offered to staff aged 40 to 59 after it secured 25 doses from a nearby medical centre.Principals at Pymble Ladies’ College and Barker College told The Australian they were vaccinated staff as per NSW Health guidelines. Knox Grammar School is set to administer the jabs on Saturday to staff who have registered their interest.NSW Teachers Federation President Angelo Gavrielatos criticised the schools’ private vaccination programs, saying many teachers in Sydney’s worst affected areas have still not been offered access to the vaccine.Meanwhile, multi-millionaire and London-based hedge fun manager Hilton Nathanson has been allowed to briefly exit mandatory hotel quarantine after just three days.Nathanson touched down in Perth on August 6 on a Qatar Airways flight from Longon via Doha and immediately commenced quarantine at a state-run facility, news.com.au reports.Three days later he was granted a compassionate exemption by the West Australian government to attend his father’s funeral.The exemption reportedly came with strict conditions, such as wearing a mask and remaining a safe distance from other attendees.BYRON BAY POSITIVE CASE ‘DIDN’T BELIEVE’ IN COVIDThe man who tested positive to the coronavirus in Byron Bay has been accused of not believing in the virus, and bringing his two children to a property in the coastal town while infectious.Byron Bay Mayor Michael Lyon has accused the man of not using QR codes while in the region and refusing to co-operate with health officials, reports The Daily Telegraph.The man is now being treated at Lismore Hospital as his case forced Byron Bay, Richmond Valley, Lismore and Ballina local government areas into lockdown.“He travelled from Sydney with two kids, staying up here in Byron, been out and about a fair amount in the time — it’s disappointing,” Mr Lyon told the ABC.“We’re going through trying to list all exposure sites and work out where he’s been, and he hasn’t been signing in and using QR codes, any of that … doesn’t believe in it, it’s a nightmare.“It’s been very difficult for police and health authorities to track down where he’s been, it’s ridiculous, you have to wonder what people are thinking when it comes to a situation like this.”The cases threw the four local government areas into lockdown from 6pm last night until 12.01am on Tuesday, August 17.Everyone who lives in the LGAs or anyone who has been there since July 31 are subject to the same rules as those living in Greater Sydney and the other locked down areas in regional NSW.In a statement, NSW Health said the region’s lockdown came after updated health advice from chief health officer Kerry Chant.The statement said the stay-at-home orders were to “protect the people of NSW from the evolving COVID-19 outbreak”.“We understand this is a difficult time for the community and appreciate their ongoing patience and co-operation,” the statement said.“We are asking people not to seek exceptions to the rules, but to ensure they comply with them so we do not see further cases of COVID-19 in the community.”MODERNA APPROVED FOR USE IN AUSTRALIAModerna’s Covid-19 vaccine has been approved for use in Australia, paving the way for deliveries to our shores to begin within weeks.The Therapeutic Goods Administration has given it the green light for adults aged over 18.The vaccine — which is the third approved for use in Australia — requires two doses administered 28 days apart.Prime Minister Scott Morrison said it means we have an additional 25 million doses of Moderna to add to the 125 million Pfizer doses and 53 million AstraZeneca doses we’ve already started rolling out.It is recommended that the vaccine is given in two doses that are administered 28 days apart.“We will have 10 million of the Moderna doses arriving before the end of this year,” he said. “The first one million doses is on track to arrive next month and will go to pharmacies. Then we will have three million in October.“Three million in November. And three million in December.“This is another important tool that we have in our battle against Covid. We’ll have it in our hands and we will have the jabs in our arms starting next month. This is our plan to ensure that we get Australia to where we need to get to this year. We have more Pfizer. We have more AstraZeneca.“Now, we have Moderna.“We have more doctors. We have more nurses. We have more pharmacists. We have more jabs in arms and now 10 million Moderna to add this year, with more than 1.3 million vaccines doses delivered in just one week, that is almost the population of the City of Adelaide.”The Herald Sun understands Moderna has been waiting on TGA approval to confirm shipping dates for Australia’s order of 10 million doses.Moderna is the third vaccine to be included in Australia’s arsenal, along with AstraZeneca and Pfizer.Like Pfizer, it uses the mRNA technology implemented for the first time in Covid-19 vaccines.The TGA is also considering further data from Moderna about its use in children aged 12 to 17, with further decisions about expanding its use to children possible in coming weeks.Professor John Skerritt from the TGA said all Moderna batches would be tested and the data on the teenagers does look good and we should be able to make a decision again convening the expert advisory committee within the next three or four weeks on an application for use in children age 12 and over.“The other really encouraging thing about Moderna is, even after 6 months, it is proving to be 93% efficacious against any infection, 98% against severe disease and 100% against death and that’s really exciting.“None of us have a crystal ball and no medical expert will be able to say, ‘You need a booster on a certain date.’ It is exciting to see such sustained activity of that vaccine 6 months after. “A little bit different from Pfizer. It does require two doses, 28 days apart, although like Pfizer.”NED-4150-Pathway-out-of-pandemicMore than 140 million doses have been administered so far in the US, where the company is based.Australia has also ordered another 15 million doses of Moderna’s booster shot which will be distributed next year.The TGA’s statement said: “The Moderna Covid-19 vaccine has shown strong efficacy preventing symptomatic Covid-19 and severe Covid-19 in clinical trials. The vaccine has also received regulatory approval or emergency authorisation in several countries and is being widely used in the United Kingdom, Canada, the European Union, the United States, Switzerland and Singapore.“Provisional approval of this vaccine in Australia is subject to certain strict conditions, such as the requirement for Moderna Australia Pty Ltd to continue providing information to the TGA on longer-term efficacy and safety from ongoing clinical trials and post-market assessment.”ONE DEATH AND 283 NEW CASES IN NSWA woman in her 90s has died of Covid in NSW as new cases climbed by 283.NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the woman had been in palliative care and passed away on Sunday night, taking the state’s death toll from the latest outbreak to 29.Of the new cases, 64 were infectious in the community and the isolation status of 71 remains under investigation.The premier announced Tamworth will go into a snap lockdown for a week starting from 5pm Monday. It comes after an individual from Newcastle travelled to Tamworth unaware they were infectious.An alert has been issued for Byron Bay after a case there.NSW chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant said the Byron Bay case is understood to have travelled from Sydney at the end of July. That individual is in hospital and the matter is under investigation.As at Monday, NSW has 349 people in hospital with 67 in intensive care – 29 of whom require ventilation.Dr Chant said she doesn’t think NSW Health has seen anyone who has had two doses of a Covid vaccine in ICU.NSW Covid Exposure SitesMODERNA EYES AUSSIE TRIAL ON CHILDRENAustralian children between the ages of six months and 12 years could be used in a trial by US company Moderna to test Covid vaccines.It is being reported that Australia is being considered as a test site for the company in another indication of its interest in the country, with the US-made vaccine soon to be available to Australian adults.Moderna is looking at Australia as one possible location for a trial with the aim of enrolling 6000 children, with most of the study taking place in the United States.The US currently allows the use of Moderna in children 12 years and up.The move was revealed in the company’s quarterly report to US regulators. It comes as the federal government remains in talks with Moderna officials about the cost of building a facility to manufacture its messenger RNA vaccine in Australia.It comes as Australia’s top COVID-19 clinical advisory group says there is not enough evidence to back the use of a new monoclonal antibody treatment.The Morrison government recently bought more than 7700 doses of the drug Sotrovimab, an antibody treatment that can be given to people as soon as they become ill with Covid. The belief is it can be given to people at risk of serious illness from Covid-19, such as the obese and the elderly, when they become infected.Health Minister Greg Hunt spoke about the government’s purchase of the drug on Saturday, saying the drug “has been shown to dramatically reduce hospitalisation and risk of death in adults with mild to moderate COVID-19”.But the drug has not been approved for use in Australia by the Therapeutic Goods Administration. Final results of the company’s phase 3 trial are yet to be published.The National Covid-19 Clinical Evidence Taskforce, which is funded by the federal government, recommends the drug should not be used to treat Covid-19 outside a clinical trial.Taskforce director Professor Julian Elliott told media there was not enough evidence to show that the drug worked.He said “the panel decided to give an only-in-research recommendation, pending the availability of more data”. In a statement, Mr Hunt said the government’s purchase was supported by the federal government’s science and industry technical advisory group.“The taskforce’s recommendation was prior to the current assessment of Sotrovimab by the TGA,” a spokesman for the Health Department said.The European Medicines Agency and the US National Institutes of Health both list the drug as a recommended treatment.Sotrovimab is a monoclonal antibody therapy, which means scientists pick a powerful antibody from a patient and then clone it billions of times.Vaccine LocatorTHE TWO NEW COVID VACCINES AND HOW THEY WORKModerna is the first of two new vaccines expected to arrive in Australia this year. Like Pfizer, Moderna is a messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine for Covid.Once the mRNA enters the body’s cells, the cells use the recipe to make the spike protein from the coronavirus which allows the immune cells to start making antibodies against it. It does not and cannot alter DNA.Moderna also has a variant-specific version to address longer term immunity for emerging strains like Delta. The government has ordered 15 million doses of this version, as part of its overall purchase, with delivery expected in the first half of 2022.Moderna has said test-tube studies using blood samples from vaccinated people show its current jab is still highly effective against the Delta variant.The vaccine requires two shots, 28 days apart. Although approved by the UK, the EU, Canada and the USA, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) granted provisional determination last month and supply will only commence should the vaccine be approved as safe and effective, which is expected given its safety profile in other countries.The Moderna vaccine has shown an overall vaccine efficacy against symptomatic Covid of 94.1 per cent, and 100 per cent efficacy against severe Covid.It has also shown strong protection of 90 per cent efficacy against COVID-19 for at least six months after the second dose.Novavax is the second new vaccine likely to be made available in Australia this year. Novavax is a vaccine still in Phase 3 development. If it is proven safe and effective by the TGA, it will be available in Australia later in 2021. The government has ordered 51 million doses.Large-scale Phase 3 clinical trials have been conducted in the United Kingdom, and South Africa, and there are ongoing trials in the United States and Mexico, with up to 30,000 volunteers. These trials have demonstrated that the Novavax vaccine is effective at preventing symptomatic COVID-19.Novavax uses a traditional vaccine technology by using purified pieces of the actual SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus spike protein to spur the production of antibodies. Two doses are required 21 days apart.A Phase 3 paediatric trial in the United States is also testing of up to 3000 adolescents aged 12-17 years as well.Novavax says its vaccine is most effective against the original coronavirus strain, as well as the Alpha strain that was first detected in the UK but less effective on the Beta strain originally out of South Africa. The company has not conducted studies on the Delta variant.Side effects following the Novavax vaccine have been generally mild to moderate, and short-lived. – additional reporting, Anton Nilsson, Jane Hansen, Amanda Sheppeard, Ellen Ransley, Rebecca Le May, Jack Paynter, Evin Priest
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