Newcastle pharmacists are urging the community to get the AstraZeneca vaccine as COVID-19 cases continue to climb throughout the region.
Only 19 per cent of Australians are fully vaccinated, and pharmacists are encouraging anyone who is over 18 and eligible to book in for their AstraZeneca vaccination.
A handful of local chemists are offering walk-in appointments and online bookings with short wait times, helping to increase community vaccination rates.
These businesses include Bagga’s Pharmacy Newcastle, Williams Chemist in Charlestown, and Piggott’s Pharmacies.
Pharmacist Anthony Piggott said all Piggott’s Pharmacies offered online bookings for the AstraZeneca vaccination except for the Huntlee branch.
He said the COVID-19 situation in Newcastle “was not looking good” and the only available vaccine at the moment was the “almost bottomless supply of AstraZeneca”.
“The mRNA vaccines, Moderna and Pfizer, are essentially unavailable and hard to get. So basically, the best vaccine you can have is the soonest vaccine you can get,” Piggott said.
“The AstraZeneca vaccine is an excellent alternative. It’s just copping flack because of the rare clotting risks for younger people and under 60s, but it’s readily available for anyone over 18, and I would encourage them to get it.
“It’s better to be covered now from a risk perspective than waiting at least another month to get the first dose of another vaccine.”
Piggott said the pharmacy visit would include a screening process and questionnaire before the vaccination was administered.
“People don’t need clearance from another health professional unless they have complications or underlying health issues,” he said.
“The screening for all of the vaccines is more or less the same, just to make sure you’re OK with vaccinations in general, and the AstraZeneca questionnaire has an extra four or six questions, which touch on the rarer risks of the clotting issue.
“The clotting issue is a slightly different syndrome than a leg clot or a lung clot. So if someone has had past clotting in these areas, it does not increase their risk for this type of rare clotting that we see with AstraZeneca. Your chances are the same as everybody else.”
Piggott said it was up to individuals to weigh up their own risks and talk to their doctor but said the benefits outweighed the risks when “running the gauntlet of the ever-expanding virus”.
“If you look at the risks, it’s a one-in-a-million chance of dying from the vaccine,” he said.
Based on this statistic, 25 Australians on average will die from rare blood clotting associated with the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Piggott said this statistic, although terrible, would be dwarfed by the number of people that will die from the virus.
“The Pfizer and the Moderna vaccine are not perfect either. They also have their own unique complications, but essentially all of these vaccinations for almost everybody will be perfectly fine and safe,” he said.
“If you’re over 18, get the vaccine.”
More than 400 Terry White Chemmart pharmacies will also start administering the AstraZeneca vaccine from Monday, August 16, to help support the surging demand.
Terry White Chemmart Chief Pharmacist Brenton Hart said the priority was to get as many Australians vaccinated as possible to help reduce the spread.
“In all states except Tasmania, our Terry White Chemmart pharmacies are now offering the AstraZeneca vaccine for anyone over the age of 18 deemed appropriate with informed consent. We will also be providing Moderna and potentially Pfizer by mid next month,” Hart said.
“Our pharmacists have been trained to administer the COVID-19 vaccine in anticipation of this day and are eager to start vaccinating Australians with what is our best defence against the virus.
“We all have a job to play in protecting ourselves, our families and others to get through this pandemic.”
Bookings can be made via the Terry White Chemmart website or in store. Walk-ins are also welcome.
What young people think
AstraZeneca’s efficacy in preventing the spread of COVID-19 has been proven worldwide, yet many young people in the region and across the country are still reluctant to get the AstraZeneca jab.
Hamilton’s Jai Tipper, 20, attributes this to changing advice and blames a lack of clear information from governments.
“There is definitely a lack of confidence young people possess regarding the safety of AstraZeneca. Different state governments are approving it, whilst you have the likes of Queensland Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young refusing to recommend it for use in people under 40.”
Tipper is among the many young people in Newcastle who have not been vaccinated. The lack of clear direction from governments and difficulties in the local vaccination process are among his reasons.
“Judging from the experiences of my friends, the process for vaccination in the Hunter has seemed difficult. The discourse surrounding AZ and blood clotting hasn’t helped anyone, either.”
He refers to the rare blood-clotting disorder Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome (TTS), which has been connected to the deaths of seven Australians who have had the AstraZeneca vaccine.
The Federal Government initially named Pfizer as the preferred vaccine for adults under 50, amid concerns about AstraZeneca’s link to the condition.
The Government now says: “If you are aged 18-59 years of age, you can choose to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine following an appropriate assessment of suitability by a qualified health professional; and if you provide verbal or written consent.”
Jackson MacNevin, 21, said quickly changing advice meant he was not likely to get vaccinated in the foreseeable future.
“It was only around April that the Federal Government recommended young people wait for the Pfizer, and that AstraZeneca is suited only for the over 60s, however now any adult can access it. Changing advice like this shows either questionable research or desperation. Either way, it worries me.”
The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) said in a statement that the new advice was issued because of the increasing risk of COVID-19 in Greater Sydney, and the increased severity of the Delta strain.
However, Jackson isn’t convinced.
“I think the Government is rushing for a solution because they are behind the rest of the world as a developed country.”
Australia’s fully vaccinated population sits at 19 per cent, not even one-third of the Federal Government’s goal of 70 per cent.
The Hunter is among the lowest vaccinated regions in the country, with 14.1 per cent of residents fully vaccinated. The statistic for Newcastle and Lake Macquarie is not much better; only 17.7 per cent of residents are fully vaccinated.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant have said that vaccination rates must increase in order for residents to enjoy long-term freedom.
The Federal Government’s rollout has so far prioritised vulnerable people such as front-line workers, the immuno-compromised and the elderly, in accessing Pfizer shots.
This is something Jai Tipper thinks young people should take into consideration when thinking about vaccination.
“As a healthy young person, I will opt for AstraZeneca if it means someone more vulnerable will get Pfizer,” he said.
James Burgess, 20, received the AstraZeneca vaccine in July, and described the process as being “super easy”. After consulting his GP to “assess the risks and understand how the vaccine works”, Burgess booked an appointment and received his first jab, and will be fully vaccinated by the end of the month.
Those vaccinated with AstraZeneca now only have to wait a minimum of four weeks to get their second jab, as opposed to the six weeks required by Pfizer.
Burgess urged young people in the Hunter to consider AstraZeneca. He said the fear around the AZ vaccine was “silly” and that it stemmed from “a lack of information”.
He also blamed media outlets and their tendency to “focus on the dangerous side” of COVID-19 vaccines rather than the role of vaccines in “saving lives”.
Liam Sherritt shared a similar sentiment, urging unvaccinated people to “get AstraZeneca”.
The 20-year-old asked people to consider that “any small risks that might happen down the line are not comparable to the common long-term negative health effects of having COVID-19”.
He conceded that it had been difficult for young Hunter residents to gain access to the vaccine.
“My Allied Health worker friends who have tried to get vaccinated have experienced long waiting lists,” he said, adding that appointment cancellations in Belmont earlier this month had made it feel like it was “nearly impossible to get the jab currently”.
Sherritt said the recent outbreak, however, had caused “a lot of young people to take one for the team” and get vaccinated with AstraZeneca.
While Sherritt’s partner, Angus McFaydon, 19, said his vaccine preference was Pfizer due to its “higher efficacy”, he strongly believed any vaccine was better than no vaccine and that he was “privileged to have had AZ”.
“I think young Novocastrians are fantasising that truckloads of Pfizer will arrive in the Hunter for everyone, but the reality is COVID is at our doorstep and we must take what we can get,” McFaydon said.
Hayley McMahon and Maia O’Connor
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