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Aged-care workers were supposed to be a priority in the COVID-19 vaccine roll-out but many remain unvaccinated. We don’t know how many because the government has only recently begun collecting that data, aged care minister Richard Colbeck revealed yesterday.
From today the Victorian government will allow unvaccinated aged-care workers to jump the queue in state-run mass vaccination hubs. But will that be enough to boost vaccination rates? And what about health- and aged-care workers in other states?
As Holly Seale writes, mandatory vaccination can increase uptake but first we need to ensure we’ve exhausted other options. This includes offering incentives and making it as easy as possible to get the shot.
Even after being vaccinated, it takes time for immunity to develop. Kylie Quinn and Jennifer Juno explain how long it takes for the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines to start working, and how well you’re protected after your second dose.
If you’d like to invest in fact-based information that’s free from spin or agenda, then please make a donation to our annual reader appeal today. And if you already have, thank you.
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Fron Jackson-Webb
Deputy Editor/Senior Health + Medicine Editor
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Nigel Hallett/AAP
Holly Seale, UNSW
If new incentives don't work, mandatory policies may be the only way forward in ensuring high COVID vaccine coverage of staff.
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James Ross/AAP
Kylie Quinn, RMIT University; Jennifer Juno, The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity
The infection of a Victorian aged-worker who had received their first COVID vaccine dose isn't completely surprising. We need two doses for optimal protection.
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Mick Tsikas/AAP
Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra
The expert medical advice changes, not infrequently, during this pandemic. And that applies even when that “advice” comes in the form of a one-liner, writes Michelle Grattan
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Wikimedia
Kevin Thiele, The University of Western Australia; Jane Melville, Museums Victoria
After more than 300 years of effort, scientists have documented fewer than one-third of Australia's species. The remaining 70% are unknown, and essentially invisible, to science.
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Winner: Archibald Prize 1972: Clifton Pugh. ‘The Hon EG Whitlam’ 1972. Oil on composition board, 113.5 x 141.5 cm.
© Estate of Clifton Pugh
Joanna Mendelssohn, The University of Melbourne
It's 100 years since the Art Gallery of NSW first held the Archibald Prize. Though loathed by some critics, it is an annual snapshot of the kind of society we are, and who our heroes might be.
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bmphotographer/Shutterstock
Peter Martin, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University
Inflation and wage rises used to shrink the repayment burden. We're being granted mortgages as if they still will.
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Researchers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in 2017.
Shepherd House/EPA/AAP
Melissa Conley Tyler, The University of Melbourne
Does it matter where COVID came from? In the ongoing war of words between the US and China, the answer is a resounding 'yes'.
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Science + Technology
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Jane Melville, Museums Victoria; Reid Tingley, Monash University
There are too many little-understood species for scientists to study them all. A new approach helps decide which ones to tackle first.
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Paul M. Garrett, The University of Melbourne; Simon J Dennis, The University of Melbourne
For now, it seems the benefits to Australia’s public health may be better served by other technology. And the public cost of maintaining the COVIDSafe app may not be in our collective interest.
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Education
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Marcia Devlin, Victoria University
Australia has gone backwards in global gender parity rankings, with even universities, which should be leading the way, failing on this front. But women are now saying enough is enough.
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Tamara Agnew, Flinders University; Stephanie Champion, Flinders University
A PhD isn't a golden ticket to success, but it is a brilliant opportunity to "flex your academic muscles and learn a lot about yourself".
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Health + Medicine
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Jesse Whitehead, University of Waikato; Kate C. Prickett, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington; Polly Atatoa Carr, University of Waikato
Age and education level are the main factors associated with vaccine hesitancy. While this affects Māori and Pacific communities, basic access to health care and information is more important.
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Hannah Dahlen, Western Sydney University; Ank de Jonge, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam; Lilian Peters, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam; Soo Downe, University of Central Lancashire
Induction of labour can be life-saving in some situations. But women are increasingly induced for non-medical reasons, and earlier in their pregnancies.
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Politics + Society
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Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra
In walking away from his defamation action against the ABC, cabinet minister Christian Porter has opened a fresh round in the battle over the allegation of historical rape against him by a now-deceased woman.
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Peter Terry, University of Southern Queensland
The tennis world paid attention when 13-year-olds were struggling with the pressures of turning pro. Osaka is reminding everyone that mental health concerns are still there.
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Arts + Culture
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Harriette Richards, The University of Melbourne
Drainpipe, torn or skinny, denim jeans have a history of unsettling the powerful.
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Environment + Energy
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Steve Turton, CQUniversity Australia
The Arctic region is warming much faster than the rest of the planet. The rapid loss of ice affects the polar jet stream, which influences weather patterns across the northern hemisphere.
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Paul McInerney, CSIRO; Tanya Doody, CSIRO
For temperature-sensitive animals, the dense, leafy canopy of willow trees may make them the lesser of two evils in a warming climate.
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