Readers will recall that the process behind the Morrison’s Government choice of vaccine posed some sticky questions:
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
Since then we have seen:
- Questionable results when AZ accidentally administered the wrong doses to its trial patients.
- Much lower efficacy of 62% than alternatives, though that is still not bad in the scheme of things.
- It has run afoul of church groups because it uses aborted fetal cells in production.
- South Africa cutting it because it is ineffective against that strain.
Today, there is more bad news with South Korea winding back its use:
- For the elderly owing to production problems.
- And to wait for greater clarity on its efficacy in the elderly.
AZ has begun work on adapting the vaccine to address the new variants.
Basically, other than ScoMo’s mate running AZ, the other features of its vaccine is that it is cheap, as well as easy to produce and transport:
And for those of you waiting to pounce on me for arguing this morning that we should make vaccines mandatory for the elderly, remember I said they should have a choice of which one!
He is also a former gold trader and economic commentator at The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, the ABC and Business Spectator. He is the co-author of The Great Crash of 2008 with Ross Garnaut and was the editor of the second Garnaut Climate Change Review.
- Goldman’s bullish oil case - February 25, 2021
- Frydenberg Unstimulus sinks into capex funk - February 25, 2021
- Is the post-COVID boom going to bust? - February 25, 2021
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When will Scotty go live on TV to show us himself and his family getting the AZ vaccine I wonder ?
Too easy, but the syringe will contain saline solution!
I wonder if it’ll be the AstraZeneca one? lol
SFM never misses a photo op, so this one’s a lay down misere – hopefully, the taxpayer-funded official photographer will capture the seminal moment for the family album.
Scomo had publicity shots of him in his boxer shots, shirt and tie released. Photos taken in the Lodge by a pro photographer.
He has no standards and will absolutely use every marketing opportunity he can to make himself look inclusive.
When Jenny tells him it’s the right thing to do.
Scomo will get the expensive one, as he is ‘front line’ on the battlegrounds …in fact, everyone in parliament in Canberra is deemed to be superior beings and will be granted the vaccine that is 95% effective.
everyone else in Australia will get the cheapo AZ shot as a cost-saving measure, even though its 62% effective.
LOL. Sad but true!?
Hunt and Murphy to get AZ, Scrotumo to get Pfizer
All good – nothing to see – hasn’t the TGA today ticked off on the AZ vaccine and they’re the experts that SFM and Greg Hunt like to rest their case on?
Thankfully Chairman Dan has just released a new innovative Covid product to keep us all safe – the garbage bag to be worn over your head.
Utopia is more and more like Victoria every day…..
That’s a really useful table, DLS, thanks for sharing.
So, basically, AZ is provisional, so you can’t give it to >65s en masse…nor to kiddies < 18. So anyone with travel hesitancy eg "I want to be vaccinated in order to fly" is going to baulk if they're 65, 65s and <18s.
Are we looking at Moderna and where is Novavax at?
And, are we getting access to more Pfizer/BioNTech?
DLS, what parameters would guide a decision that allows you to view AZ as safe, and not dodgy? It seems to me that because TGA has given adult approval, and >65s on a case by case basis, it’s safe? Unless you think the TGA has rushed this (they say not), or you think their process has been compromised (they say not). It kind of infers the TGA hasn’t done their job?
Genuine q, not snark.
AZ is charging $2 a dose and will not make a profit during the pandemic ( apparently )
Pfizer is $20-$30.
So, AZ is as good as what I’d get at a $2 shop?
“Much lower efficacy of 62% than alternatives, though that is still not bad.”
Better than or at least as good as the regular flu shot, and everyone loves those.
But im sure as with all good science, these results are cherry picked for all they can be.
do I want to take a vaccine that has a very short history of its potential long term side-effects, while boasting a 62% effectiveness in combatting the virus? yeah, nah!
Seriously Scomo, when there are vaccines out there with over 90% efficacy, why the fk would our great nation throw the kitchen sink at mass producing (for its population) a vaccine that is 62% effective? I’m no mathematician, but this just doesn’t stack up.
I mean, one should ask themselves would they prefer a 90 plus % chance of not becoming seriously ill from a lethal virus, or a 62% chance of not becoming seriously ill from the lethal virus?
I’m a 90 plus % kinda guy, I’ll wait for the real deal thanks 🙂
+1 My thoughts too.
Australia doesn’t have the ability to manufacture the Pfizer vaccine, it should be pretty obvious.