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Anonymous (Unverified)
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what do you say to people who say they will not get vaccinated because it was 'rushed', or we don’t know the long term effects, e.g. 20 or 30 years into the future?
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Australia has a very robust health technology program. The Therapeutics Goods Authority are required to only register a vaccine if it’s safe and effective.
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Anonymous (Unverified)
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Is there any evidence that the virus could remain over the long-term within an individual, such as in cells found within the heart?
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No evidence that I am aware of and not really consistent with how this virus behaves. There is an increasingly recognised ‘long-COVID’ syndrome, but this appears to be symptoms unrelated to long-term carriage.
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Anonymous (Unverified)
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Is there any reason why is Africa not so affected? Is it a reporting issue?
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Good question and it’s speculative. https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/08/pandemic-appears-have-spared-africa-so-far-scientists-are-struggling-explain-why
This article suggests that the discordance between the frequency of antibodies and the cases reported suggests a reporting issue is at least part of the problem.
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Anonymous (Unverified)
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Japan also seems to be quite low, and they don't seem to have the level of testing, so how are they doing better than the Americas, China, etc.
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I agree that does seem anomalous and I’m not sure. It does look like they are now getting a ‘third wave’.
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Amanda Muller (Unverified)
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Where can I find reputable sources of information about Sars-COV-2 (the virus itself and how it infects/transmits), such as that you offered at the start of the talk please?
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Hi Amanda. Good question. Stick with WHO/CDC and Department of health websites such as https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/technical-guidance/naming-the-coronavirus-disease-(covid-2019)-and-the-virus-that-causes-it
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Stacey Masters (Unverified)
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Cases in residential aged care include staff and residents. It would be useful to see numbers recovered and died for staff and residents separately to underscore the impact on the elderly.
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Department of Health statistics refers to people living in government-subsidised residential aged care facilities https://www.health.gov.au/resources/covid-19-cases-in-aged-care-services-residential-care
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Judith Leeson AM (Unverified)
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Do the stats indicate that overseas entries to Australia should be tested before boarding their plane?
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The problem is that a negative test doesn’t exclude infection, especially early on in the course of COVID19.
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Anonymous (Unverified)
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Regarding face masks, the evidence is for N95 and surgical face masks in clinical settings, but how applicable is this for home-made or chemist/bought masks in normal uncrowded social settings?
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Excellent point. Effectiveness depends very much on appropriate use (donning and doffing) to avoid contamination and duration of usage (with surgical masks losing effectiveness after 2 hours or so). This recently published research on the effectiveness of a range of masks may also provide insights: https://news.flinders.edu.au/blog/2020/09/23/virus-tests-support-masks-against-covid-19/
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Colin MacDougall (Unverified)
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You pointed out that drug trials dominate research studies. Public health measures are more effective but under researched. What does this say about the capacity of the Australian research system in allocating funds for the highest benefits?
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Very valid point Colin. The BESSI collaboration makes this point very clearly. https://www.bessi-collab.net . This is part of a broader issue with aligning research with the priorities and health needs of the community.
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Rebecca Cook (Unverified)
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What are your thoughts on the potential mutation rate and what impact will it have on vaccine development?
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12,000+ mutations have already been detected but the rate of mutation is lower than, say, influenza. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-02544-6 The impact on the vaccine is unknown at this stage but likely to be less.
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Alex Mudd (Unverified)
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Thank you for your lecture. 2020 has been awash with misinformation about COVID -origin, treatments and prevention. What responsibility to you see on organisations such as Flinders to counter misinformation?
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Thank you Alex. Agree completely which is one of the reasons for this lecture. During the early days of the pandemic I was doing this for our staff and students weekly. It’s however a community responsibility. I think government and journalists are doing their bit too.
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Anonymous (Unverified)
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what about the virus evolving? Is there any evidence that the virus is changing, and will the vaccine have to be adapted for different strands of the Covid19?
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12,000+ mutations have already been detected but the rate of mutation is lower than, say, influenza https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-02544-6 The impact on the vaccine is unknown at this stage but likely to be less.
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Cameron (Unverified)
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What % of vaccine uptake would be required to have the desired effect?
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That’s a very important question but not possible to answer at present. The desired effect is preventing infection (especially serious infection) in the person immunised but also preventing transmission in the community (so-called herd immunity). This depends upon how infectious the virus is, the effectiveness of the vaccine (eg 90% effective means preventing 90% infections in those immunised) and how long immunity lasts. More than 70% of the entire population might be something like the figure required. See for a fuller discussion - https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)32318-7/fulltext
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Anonymous (Unverified)
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Thank you. Good info. Helpful.
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Thank you
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Warwick (Unverified)
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Is the strain in minks in Scandinavia a risk to a potential vaccine
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This risk appears very low https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/sites/default/files/documents/RRA-SARS-CoV-2-in-mink-12-nov-2020.pdf
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Anonymous (Unverified)
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Should vaccination be made mandatory in some states e.g. South Australia
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Mandating immunisation is probably not possible, but one option is mandating immunisation in the setting of travel , which already occurs for some conditions.
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Anonymous (Unverified)
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Northern Territory is registering zero infections, is that accurate and what would be the factor why NT is safe?
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NT government website indicates that there are 6 active cases at present (all active overseas cases) with 1 on the 12/11 and 1 on 13/11. NT case load appears consistent with its population
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Anonymous (Unverified)
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Why did covid go global while Sars and Mers did not?
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Great question. I think it’s due to the differences in the viruses, and in particularly the likelihood of transmission/infectivity.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7097006/
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Anonymous (Unverified)
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Why is mask wearing not made mandatory in some states e.g. South Australia
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Mandating masks is a big step, especially when the data supporting their use in low risk settings are not as strong as other strategies such as physical distancing. Supply can also be a problem, and their effectiveness is substantially diminished without good technique or when individual masks are used for too long. Impossible for young children.
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Claire Roberts (Unverified)
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Can we really expect eradication of SARS-CoV-2 or will we learn to live with it like flu and need annual newly formulated vaccines?
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Crystal ball glazing is fraught, but I suspect that eradication will ultimately occur, however not until 2022, and so we will need to learn to live with it in one form or another until then. Durability of immunity post vaccine is probably longer than for the flu but time will tell.
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Anonymous (Unverified)
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Literature suggests that 15-20% of patients never experience respiratory symptoms, rather gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea and diarrhea. Why are we not advising the community of these symptoms as being common in a significant proportion of those infected?
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That’s an interesting observation and as you suggest contrary to health advice on symptoms. I would be interested in reviewing the study(ies) that have demonstrated this.
https://www.health.gov.au/resources/publications/identifying-the-symptoms-english
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Anya (Unverified)
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With the expedited testing process for vaccines, do you believe that they will be safe and effective for the people at risk who will likely receive them first?
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Australia will require thorough evaluation of safety and effectiveness by the TGA before any vaccine is rolled out. It is also likely that the health technology assessments will be shared.
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Amanda Muller (Unverified)
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Is it likely that regular contact/infection with other family variants of coronavirus might improve extreme Sars-COV-2 outcomes?
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I don’t think so Amanda. The viruses are too different.
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Anonymous (Unverified)
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Are there any differences about the vaccine between different companies and are some of them supreme than others?
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Yes, substantial differences exist across the many vaccines in development – some are live attenuated, some RNA, others DNA, others viral vector based. Some are more advanced than others, but it is unknown which one(s) are the most effective as yet. It is likely more than vaccine will be required to ensure appropriate supply.
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