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Young changes tack on Astra vaccine, says young people should ‘have that discussion’

Queensland’s growing delta outbreak means the AstraZeneca vaccine is a more viable option for younger Queenslanders, Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young says.

Aug 03, 2021, updated Aug 04, 2021
Queensland Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young is seen during a press conference in Brisbane,  Thursday, July 1, 2021. (AAP Image/Darren England)

Queensland Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young is seen during a press conference in Brisbane, Thursday, July 1, 2021. (AAP Image/Darren England)

Despite expressing fears about the impact of the Astrazeneca vaccine on young people, she believes the state is “on the verge” of a large outbreak, and wants 150,000 extra doses of AstraZeneca supplied by the Commonwealth “going into arms this week”.

“The ATAGI advice says when you reach a large outbreak which I think we’re on the verge of…that’s the time to go and have that discussion with your GP,” Young said on Tuesday.

“This is the time that people who are under age 60 should be talking to their GP about what is best for them as an individual, GPs know their patients.”

Young was speaking after confirming Brisbane’s COVID-19 outbreak had swollen to 47 cases.

On Tuesday afternoon, Queensland Health said a new case of had been detected in a person in Cairns but did not know the strain of the virus.

Queensland Health told the ABC an an investigation was underway into whether the case is currently infectious or historical.

Young has come under sustained criticism for her previous comments on AstraZeneca, when she expressed fears about 18-year-olds dying from blood clots if they received the vaccine.

Only on Monday she repeated: “I said I didn’t want 18-year-olds to have AstraZeneca. And I still don’t.”

However, the official declaration of south-east Queensland as a COVID-19 hotspot appears to have prompted a softening of her view.

ATAGI also recommends the time between AstraZeneca doses be shortened in an outbreak, something Young will herself do when she gets her second jab this week.

To lift the lockdown as scheduled, at 4pm on Sunday, Young would require all new cases to have been in quarantine while infectious. That will require a massive contact tracing effort, even more people being placed in hotel quarantine, and an unprecedented level of testing.

Young denied Queensland had “the highest vaccine hesitancy” in the country, but said she was concerned that a significant proportion of people over 60 still weren’t vaccinated.

Just over 18 per cent of Queenslanders are fully vaccinated, and almost 37 per cent have had their first dose.

Of the 60-69 year old age group, less than 20 per cent have had their second dose
Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said GPs and pharmacists would be important as the state tries to increase vaccination rates.

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“We still believe that the pharmacies and our GPs are in the best position to roll out the AstraZeneca to the general population,” she said.

“If we can redirect second doses from GPs to pharmacies, we can free up a whole lot of booking spaces with GPs for those first doses.”

Queensland is also asking to bring forward all of its August supply of the Pfizer vaccine as it tries to control the outbreak in the south east.

“We’re supposed to be getting around 84,000 Pfizer vaccines a week, each week of August. We would like to bring that whole supply forward now,” she said.

Meanwhile, opposition leader David Crisafulli said that in June, the federal government roadmap showed 100,000 doses of AstraZeneca were supposed to arrive in Queensland.

“They werent agreed to, they weren’t accepted, and that’s a mistake,” he said.

D’Ath said she wasn’t aware of the state being offered extra doses in June and said she previously asked the Commonwealth to redistribute supply to GPs.

“We didn’t need it because our frontline workers, and those who are 40 to 60, were being recommended to get Pfizer,” she said.

“There was no point us holding on to AstraZeneca, when GPs were wanting it, needing it, and they were doing the 60 Plus (age group).

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