Bob Walters
When I posted about Australia’s slow vaccination progress we were ranked dead last among OECD countries in the full vaccination “ race “. We have now nosed past South Korea into second last place. Sydney’s COVID outbreak and lockdown is certainly a factor, but whatever the reason, the increased rate of vaccination we’re seeing is good news.
The Sydney outbreak is also leading to growing numbers of COVID victims being admitted to intensive care units (ICUs) and, sadly, to a number of deaths. So far, while a small number of the patients in ICU have had one vaccination shot, none have been fully vaccinated. But based on international experience, it’s only a matter of time before that will change. We should also expect to see some deaths of fully vaccinated people. I am sure that the minute that happens there will be enormous media attention, but
In fact, it won’t. It will simply be a statistical consequence of an increasingly vaccinated population. It’s sobering to recall that in the race to develop vaccines last year, 50% efficacy in trials was set as the hurdle for regulatory approval . As it turned out, the vaccines all did far better with trial efficacies around 80-90%. These are extremely good vaccines, but they are still not 100% effective at preventing disease, hospitalisation or even death. As more and more people are vaccinated, we should
Bob Walters