What's That Rash? - TopPodcast.com

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Can we vaccinate people against falling for vaccine lies? Feb 08, 2021

Show notes

A hallmark of the coronavirus pandemic has been the related "infodemic" of fake news that has circulated online.

But while many have tried valiantly to set the story straight, fact-based debunking is often a tougher sell than a wild conspiracy theory.

Now experts are trying a different approach: they've come up with a game where you play the role of a fake-news generator in an attempt to get people to recognise misinformation when they see it.

So on today's Coronacast, can we use games and similar techniques to vaccinate people against falling for vaccine lies?

Why has Australia ordered so many vaccines? Feb 05, 2021

Show notes

The Federal Government has revealed that it has sourced another 10 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine, bringing the total ordered for Australia to 150 million.

Most Australians will still be given the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine if it is approved by the regulator.

Also, it's been announced that everyone in Australia, including all visa holders, will be given a vaccine for free and it's hoped the rollout will be completed by October.

So on today's Coronacast, why have we ordered so many vaccines? And what do we hope the vaccination program will achieve?

Also on today's show:

* Do we know if vaccines prevent transmission yet?

* What's the latest from the WA and Victorian outbreaks?

* What medical conditions could prevent or limit COVID vaccination?

* What is the difference between the SA variant, the UK variant and the Brazil variant? Are they the same thing?

Nothing good can come from a 10:30pm press conference :( Feb 04, 2021

Show notes

Late last night, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews announced that a worker at a quarantine hotel hosting guests for the Australian Open had tested positive to coronavirus.

This came just hours after it was revealed Victorian authorities were trying to work out how two groups of returning overseas travellers both staying at a different hotel ended up with the exact same variant of coronavirus.

As of 11:59pm last night, restrictions on gatherings, mask rules and caps on numbers of people have all come back into effect in Victoria.

So on today's Coronacast, what can Victorians expect in the coming days, and do these cases tell us anything new about the virus?

Also on today's show:

* Viral load is "a leading driver of SARSCoV2 transmission”

* Could the drug ivermectin help protect against coronavirus after all?

* Some Russian vaccine results have been published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it looks good

Wasn't the UK strain supposed to be more contagious? Feb 03, 2021

Show notes

Yesterday was another coronavirus donut day for Western Australia, which also comes as there's been a huge increase in testing numbers.

While Perth and some surrounding areas remain in lockdown, both testing numbers and the zero cases will give health authorities a little bit more confidence that there isn't an undetected coronavirus cluster bubbling away.

But if we come back to hotel quarantine where this all started, part of the concern was that the guard was infected with the new so-called UK strain of the virus, which has been shown to be more infectious than previous variants.

So on today's Coronacast, if the UK variant is much more infectious - why haven't we seen more cases?

Also on today's show:

* Norman's been invited to some more Zoom seminars on vaccine rollouts. What's he learnt?

When might we see more cases in WA's outbreak? Feb 02, 2021

Show notes

When you're in the middle of a coronavirus scare, the sweetest number of all that you want to hear is 0 new cases.

That's exactly what Western Australia's Premier Mark McGowan delivered yesterday, as Perth entered its first full day of a strict lockdown.

It was triggered after a hotel quarantine worker tested positive for COVID over the weekend, ending a 10 month long no community transmission run for WA.

But on today's Coronacast, if it's so serious to plunge a whole city into lockdown, shouldn't we be seeing more cases already?

Also on today's show:

* What happens if you get COVID in between getting your first and second vaccine shot?

* If you've had COVID, can you get vaccinated?

* Is the vaccine I'm given first the only chance I'll get or can I get a different type down the track?

Is WA overreacting by locking down so much? Feb 01, 2021

Show notes

It was the information that no one in Australia, let alone Western Australia, wanted to hear: there's been a COVID leak from a quarantine hotel.

The city of Perth last night spent its first night in a five day hard lockdown, as health authorities start a mammoth contact tracing effort to track down the virus.

As lockdowns go, it's very strict: people are only allowed out for a few essential reasons, masks are mandatory, and students due back at school have been given another week off.

So on today's Coronacast, is locking down nearly 80 per cent of the state's population with only one confirmed case an overreaction?

Also on today's show:

* We run through the latest vaccine trial results of Novavax and Johnson and Johnson. What does it all mean?

* Now that all the major trial results are in, Norman has ranked them from best to least best (hey it's amazing we have five options so quickly!)

You thought herd immunity would save us? Maybe not Jan 29, 2021

Show notes

For much of the coronavirus pandemic, there's been an idea that when enough people are infected and then recover the health crisis will be over.

It's known as herd immunity - and early on in the pandemic some countries thought it would be the best long-term strategy in dealing with COVID.

Well, it's lucky that the herd immunity strategy was mostly abandoned, because a peer-reviewed study published in medical journal The Lancet has found that herd immunity might not work.

On today's Coronacast, Tegan Taylor and Norman Swan discuss some of the reasons why.

Also on the show:

* Where was China in yesterday's best countries to handle COVID leaderboard chat?

And Tegan and Norman go another round of Quick Fire Friday.

Which country is the best in the world at managing COVID? Jan 28, 2021

Show notes

There's no denying that Australia has so far done well at managing COVID and keeping it out of the country.

But how do we compare to the rest of the world?

Well, according to a new report from the Lowy Institute, the answer is very well indeed with Australia coming in at number 8 in the world.

So on today's Coronacast, how did Australia end up at number 8? And who did better?

GUEST:Herve Lemahieu, Director of the Power and Diplomacy Program at the Lowy Institute

What's with the hold-up with the Pfizer vaccine? Jan 27, 2021

Show notes

The vaccine hopes of millions of people worldwide are hanging on the Pfizer vaccine, but the supply of the shot is facing delays.

Why? Well, it relies on a whole lot of things that have never happened before all happening at once, in perfect sequence.

It's the first approved mRNA vaccine, it needs to be produced in the billions, and it needs to be kept at super-low temperatures until it's needed.

So today on Coronacast, Norman and Tegan discuss the challenges facing the Pfizer vaccine and what it means for our ability to protect the most vulnerable people in Australia.

Also on today's show:

* Some news outlets are reporting the vaccine that most Australians will get, the Oxford AstraZeneca shot, has efficacy of less that 10 per cent in elderly people. How worried should you be?

Will the next vaccine approval be harder? Jan 26, 2021

Show notes

In news that has been eagerly awaited since the pandemic began, a coronavirus vaccine has finally been approved for use in Australia.

Yesterday, the Therapeutic Goods Administration gave the mRNA vaccine the thumbs up, paving the way for its rollout for key vulnerable groups.

But Australia won't have enough Pfizer vaccine for the entire population, and is relying on the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine to fill the gaps.

So on today's Coronacast, why the approval of the Astra vaccine might be a bit more of a challenge for the TGA than the Pfizer vaccine.

Also on today's show:

* Will Australia be keeping enough supply from the first shipments to boost the people who receive the first vaccinations?

* How is "vulnerable" defined for the purposes of deciding who will get the Pfizer vaccine?

* Will I be able to choose which vaccine I receive?

And thank you for writing in about your coronavirus "ah-ha/oh-no" moment when you realised it was going to be A Thing. We go through some of your comments.

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