There were reasons to be cautious on the global vaccine rollout. It was spectacularly swift and many drug companies have been indemnified in the event of fallout. However, the rollout is going swimmingly in those countries that have been most aggressive with excellent results in overall leader Israel as the Pfizer vaccine works to both retard transmission and render the virus much less virulent.
But sensible caution should not be confused with lunacy. This weekend saw the march at anti-vaxxer rallies around the country:
- 11 separate demonstrations took place.
- Dubbed the “Millions March”, hundreds turned out in Sydney and Melbourne.
- Conspiracy theorists were everywhere. Pete Evans made an appearance in Sydney.
- 20 were arrested in Melbourne.
Loons aside, there is a reason for sensible Australians to be angry about the local vaccine rollout. On the weekend, Prime Minister Scott Morrison was vaccinated with the Pfizer jab, the gold-standard. The same treatment being used so successfully in Israel:
He encouraged us all to follow suit but what he didn’t say was we’re not being offered the same one. We, the people, are only being offered the less effective Astra Zeneca version from his former Liberal Party mate:
The AZ vaccine is materially less effective than the Pfizer version. That is not to say that it is ineffective. 62% efficacy is still good. But at 94% and 95% efficacy, Pfizer or Moderna are obviously better.
Moreover, the AZ version does not work very well on the South African variant and there are still open questions about its efficacy in the elderly. It is not being used in many African countries, Germany or Korea for these reasons.
On the other hand, the Pfizer version has less diminished efficacy versus the South African variant but is no less effective for the elderly. All three firms are now working furiously on adapted versions. Strong alternatives from Novavax and J&J are in the pipeline for H2.
This brings us back to the selection process of the vaccine originally. Recall that PM Scott Morrison rushed it out in his usual marketing-first, policy-last style in August last year. Why the AZ vaccine was selected is an ongoing political question typical of this corrupt government:
Goodness.
The Director of Government Affairs at Scott Morrison’s suddenly favourite new drug company AstraZeneca is former federal govt lobbyist Kieran Schneemann.
He’s also a former Chief of Staff in the Liberal party.
Not that there’s anything wrong with that at all.
— RonniSalt (@RonniSalt) August 19, 2020
I’m sure Scott Morrison forgot to mention it today.
It seems AstraZeneca have an interesting history in government contracting related offences
Since 2000, they’ve paid out over USD $543 million in fines.
Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
(thx @FutureGhost14 for tip) pic.twitter.com/GP4Jw91nD4
— RonniSalt (@RonniSalt) August 19, 2020
It seems Scott Morrison forgot to mention AstraZeneca’s vast corporate rap sheet when his government recently exempted them from covid-19 vaccine liability
From illegal marketing to product safety, tax avoidance & price gouging – it seems AstraZeneca has been there & done that
. pic.twitter.com/30HXJnO9Ou— RonniSalt (@RonniSalt) August 19, 2020
There were certainly questions about the availability of respective vaccines at the time that needed to be dealt with. But, today, the PM getting the good one (along with front-line health care workers) while the rest of us getting the cattle-class prod is the direct result of failing to manage these issues. For instance, Israel paid double to get its Pfizer allotment for everybody. Morrison went for the cheapest, least effective and most dodgy in terms of political connections.
Since then, new agreements have been struck that include the Pfizer and Novavax vaccine which will supply more doses:
The Novavax and Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines are expected to be available in Australia from early to mid 2021 – subject to approval by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) for use in Australia.
But there is no sign of them yet and until they get here punters have every right to ask whether they shouldn’t wait for the same vaccine that ScoMo just had. 62% protection against most virus variants is good but 94% plus stronger efficacy versus the South African variant is better.
