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One whole year of coronavirus in Australia. How did we do? Jan 25, 2021

Show notes

Today marks one year since coronavirus officially reached our shores and changed our lives forever.

On January 25, 2020, Victorian health authorities detected the first case of COVID-19 in a man who had flown in from Guandong province a few days earlier.

On today's Coronacast, Dr Norman Swan and Tegan Taylor look back on the moment they realised that our world was about to be upturned.

Also on the show:

* What could the second generation of vaccines look like and why would be bother if we already have one?

* Is the UK variant *really* more contagious?

* Did Norman actually make it to Rottnest Island in the end?

* Is Norman pumping iron in the gym again?

Should we re-think who gets the vaccine first? Jan 22, 2021

Show notes

In a global context, Australia is in an incredibly privileged position when it comes to the coronavirus vaccine rollout.

Case numbers are very low and we're once again getting close to eliminating local spread, so we have time to monitor how the Pfizer vaccine is working in other countries.

We can see what works and what doesn't, which can help inform the vaccine rollout strategy Australia takes when a vaccine eventually arrives.

So on today's Coronacast, how Australia's enviable position allows a re-think on who should get the vaccine first.

Also on today's show:

* We have a question from Gary, an Israeli Coronacaster who lives on a kibbutz

* Some feedback from the Coronacaster from last year who was too afraid to leave the house after the Melbourne lockdown

And it's Friday, which means there's some sort of quick fireness.

The huge coronavirus challenge facing America's new President Jan 21, 2021

Show notes

Joe Biden has been sworn into office early this morning and now faces a monstrous battle to get COVID under any semblance of control.

Yesterday, according to Johns Hopkins University, the US recorded more than 400,000 coronavirus deaths since the pandemic began.

As the weeks pass and the pandemic spreads, more and more people are dying. At the moment, an American is dying of COVID roughly every 38 seconds.

So on today’s Coronacast, the huge problem facing America and what President Biden might be able to do about it.

Also on today's show:

* As vaccines continue to rollout, when will case numbers (and deaths) start dropping?

* Nearly a third of people who were discharged from hospitals in England after being treated for COVID-19 were readmitted within five months

* A bit of feedback on yesterday's episode on the time taken to bust COVID clusters

* And what do we know about breastfeeding after taking a COVID vaccine?

How long does it take to bust a COVID cluster? Jan 20, 2021

Show notes

An analysis of NSW coronavirus clusters has found the state's COVID-19 outbreak could almost be at an end.

The ABC looked at 18 coronavirus outbreaks in NSW since July last year and found that it takes authorities three weeks on average to bring an end to each cluster.

That means that the cluster which Berala cluster, which began on New Year's Eve, could be in its last days.

But on today's Coronacast, it all depends if contract tracers have missed any cases.

Also on today's show:

* A very small study finds that the Pfizer vaccine mightn't work quite as well on the new "UK strain" variant

* I'm in my 30s and my partner and I always thought this was the year to start trying for a baby. Now I'm worried that if I get pregnant now I'll miss or delay my opportunity to get a vaccine.

* Why is Australia only sourcing two vaccines and not all that is available, including the Russian and Chinese ones?

FEATURED GUEST:ABC data journalist Catherine Hanrahan

What have we learned from the Pfizer vaccine rollout? Jan 19, 2021

Show notes

While the deaths of elderly people who had received the Pfizer vaccine in Norway has dominated the headlines, it's worth taking a step back and taking a broader look of the worldwide rollout to date.

Millions and millions of doses of the Pfizer vaccine have now been given to people around the world, and scientists have been monitoring to see if any rarer side effects are popping up.

That's because it sometimes takes larger numbers of people receiving a new drug before you can see if there are any one in a million events.

So on today's Coronacast, what have we learned so far from the Pfizer vaccine rollout around the world? And what could it mean for the other first generation coronavirus vaccines?

Also on today's show:

* When you get the vaccine, how long does it take to afford protection? Hours? Days? Weeks?

* Could the fall in the NSW COVID-19 testing numbers reflect the fact that greater Sydney is now subject to mandatory mask wearing resulting in fewer people getting even mild cold symptoms?

Is the Pfizer vaccine the culprit in elderly deaths in Norway? Jan 18, 2021

Show notes

As vaccines are injected into millions of arms across the world, authorities are watching closely to see if there are any unexpected side effects.

And a higher than expected number of deaths in frail and elderly Pfizer vaccine recipients in Norway is drawing scrutiny.

The Norwegian Medicines Agency last week reported 13 people had died shortly after getting the Pfizer vaccine shot - all people over the age of 80 and all in nursing homes.

So how do we know if these deaths are to do with the vaccine, or whether they might have happened anyway? And if they do prove to be linked to the vaccine, what does this mean for the rollout?

Also on today's Coronacast:

* Australian Open participants in quarantine ahead of the tournament have tested positive to the virus - will they be cleared in time?

* Are there any side effects if you get a vaccine when you already have immunity to the virus?

* I increasingly meet people being suspicious about the vaccine. How do you talk to them?

Vaccines are rolling out - so when will cases drop? Jan 15, 2021

Show notes

Coronavirus vaccines have started rolling out around the world -- so when will we see case numbers start to drop? Preliminary data out of Israel offers some hope, but the death of a Florida physician who had received the Pfizer vaccine has sparked an investigation into its safety. (There have been no similar cases recorded in those who have received the vaccine.)

Closer to home, could mining camps be the answer to Queensland’s quarantine question? And if the so-called UK strain is so infectious, how come the Brisbane outbreak hasn’t been much worse?

Norman Swan and Tegan Taylor answer your questions on Coronacast.

Also on today’s show, a Quick Fire Friday covering Chinese vaccines, fertility, infectious eyes, and much more!

Why will most Australians get a less effective vaccine? Jan 14, 2021

Show notes

If all goes well Australians will start receiving coronavirus vaccinations from next month. But the types of vaccines on offer are not created equal.

High-risk groups will get a vaccine that’s been shown to have 95 per cent efficacy -- but the vast majority of Australians will get a locally produced shot that studies have so far found to be much less effective.

Is jumping in with what we’ve got on hand the best approach? Or are we better off waiting until we can get our hands on a more effective vaccine?

Also, what’s going on in Brisbane’s quarantine hotel where six positive cases are found to have been linked?

Norman Swan and Tegan Taylor answer your questions on Coronacast.

Is the UK strain really 70 per cent more transmissible? (No.) Jan 13, 2021

Show notes

Pretty much since coronavirus emerged, people have been worried about it mutating, but in the past month or so reports of strains that are particularly contagious have caught the public’s attention and begun to guide public policy.What makes these strains different to earlier mutations? Is the so-called UK strain really 70 per cent more transmissible? What does this mean for vaccines, and why are similar mutations popping up in virus strains in distant parts of the world? Norman Swan and Tegan Taylor put these questions and more to virologist Professor Edward Holmes from the University of Sydney in today’s Coronacast.

What’s the point of a three-day lockdown? Jan 12, 2021

Show notes

On Friday, Greater Brisbane was plunged into lockdown after a worker at a quarantine hotel tested positive to the so-called UK strain of coronavirus. But no other cases emerged during the three-day lockdown, and the region opened up again last night.So what was the point of this lockdown? Was it an overreaction to a single case? Or, given that we know the virus can take up to 14 days to incubate, was it not long enough? Dr Norman Swan and Tegan Taylor are back for 2021 to answer these questions on today’s Coronacast.

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