Hospitals and Healthcare

To stop producing vaccines in Australia when nations like Indonesia — our close neighbour, friend, strategic partner and the world’s third largest democracy — are crying out for them is unforgivable.

Indonesia has only fully vaccinated a little under 20 per cent of its population, with around 35 per cent having received at least one dose. That leaves nearly two-thirds of its population without having had any vaccine.

Instead, doses of AstraZeneca are being thrown in the bin because Australians don’t want them.

A week after Garry Richardson had his first AstraZeneca shot he developed severe abdominal pain and was found to have blood clots. He knows his case is very rare. 

Australia’s low death rate from the rare syndrome linked to the AstraZeneca shot is in no small part due to a ‘huge collaborative effort’

The preliminary finding is the first of its kind on the effectiveness of two doses of AstraZeneca in a real-world setting, Public Health England said.