Coronavirus Australia news: Herd immunity may need us to vaccinate children, Brendan Murphy tells parliamentary committee — as it happened

Thanks for sticking with us today, my dear blog readers. 

We'll hit publish on a fresh one tomorrow morning. Mick Doyle will be the one keeping you company then.

See you next time.

The end is now in sight for a lockdown that has kept 2 million people inside for five days.

But it will be some time yet before life in Perth returns to normal.

So, with restrictions to continue in WA for some time yet, here are the key things you need to know.

Is Mark making another WA announcement tonight before lockdown ends?


-Trudy

Hi Trudy,

We're not expecting to hear from him again today.  If that changes, we'll let you know. 

What is the relationship between the Secretary of the Health Department and the Chief Medical Officer? Did Brendan Murphy get demoted?

-Murphy fan

Hi Murphy Fan, 

So the Department of Health is responsible for overseeing the running of our health system. 

Brendan Murphy is now Secretary of that department, and is therefore the most senior public servant of that department. 

The Chief Medical Officer (currently Paul Kelly) is the principal health advisor to the Government, and reports to the Secretary of the Department of Health. 

Professor Murphy has said he found it uncomfortable being recognised in the street after becoming more of a high profile public figure in the early days of the pandemic.

This piece by political editor Andrew Probyn from June last year takes a deeper look at Professor Murphy's time in the spotlight and his move away from it if you'd like to give it a read.

Hi there blog team,

I'm not sure if this info is available but I'm curious about the vaccines that have not progressed or been approved by our government. We only hear about Pfizer, AZ and Moderna, do we know of any other vaccines that are either in the works or have been rejected?

-Andrew

Hi Andrew,

According to the World Health Organization, there are about 200 COVID-19 vaccine candidates in development.

Of these, at least 52 are in human trials.

The Australian Government has so far committed to three — Pfizer, Oxford-AstraZeneca and Novavax, as you know — and signed up to the global COVAX initiative, which will potentially give us access to about seven other vaccines in development if required.

They're being developed by:  

• CureVac
• Sanofi/GSK
• Inovio
• Clover Biopharmaceuticals / GSK / Dynavax
• Institut Pasteur / Merck / Thermis
• University of Hong Kong

The Australian Government has also confirmed it is in discussions with "a dozen" other vaccine manufacturers, including pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson.  

Hello, Has there been any discussion or timeframe given as to when WA may open to NSW without the requirement to quarantine?

-WA bound

Hey there WA Bound, 

To become a very low risk state or territory according to the WA Government, NSW needs to have recorded no community cases in at least 28 days. 

That's the bar NSW needs to reach before travellers from the state to WA are not required to quarantine on entry. 

NSW made it 19 days without community transmission today. 

My parents are both over 70yrs of age and are based in the UK. They are both due to receive their first dose of vaccine tomorrow. I’m so happy right now!!!

-Crying happy tears!!

Earlier today PM Scott Morrison announced the state would go back to receiving 1,000 returned travellers a week (up from the 500 a week it currently receives). 

Then the QLD Premier tweeted Queensland would be taking in 1,300 people a week: "We feel for the vulnerable Australians stuck overseas. From February 15, Queensland's weekly arrivals cap returns to 1,300."

So what's the deal? 

Turns out Queensland will have a baseline capacity to receive 1,000 returned travellers a week. 

But they have a surge capacity of an extra 300. So, if they have the capacity, they'll take an extra 300.

It emerged from today's National Cabinet meeting the number of returning Australians going through the Northern Territory's Howard Springs facility is set to increase and Queensland is looking at quarantining people near Toowoomba.

    
But Gladys Berejiklian has said Sydney is the most suitable location in New South Wales for hotel quarantine. 

"Our quarantine system now, which is overseen by the New South Wales Police, has thousands of people involved," the Premier said.

"Whether it's police, health workers, cleaners, hotel staff, other staff, and also we need to have good proximity to our hospital system as well. Given the issues that we're dealing with."

Could you advise how many return travelers each state is now accepting weekly please?

-Numbers

Hey there numbers, 

I sure can. 

• NSW: 1,505

• VIC: 1,120

• QLD: 500 

• SA: 490

• WA: 512 

• NT: 425 

It touches on: 

• Australia's COVID vaccine strategy 
• The new taskforce to assess the risk environment of COVID in 2021 
• Quarantine arrangements 
• Returning traveller caps 

You can find it here.

The fragments cropped up in Oxley Creek, Bundaberg and Elanora sewage catchments. 

“Getting tested is especially important now more than ever, as we know the new variants emerging overseas are more contagious than previous variants we have seen in Queensland,” Queensland Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young said.

“If there is a case we are not yet aware of, it is critical we detect it through our testing mechanisms as quickly as possible to contain any potential spread.

“It is, of course, also possible that this detection relates to previous COVID-19 cases who can shed viral fragments for a couple of months after they are no longer infectious,” she said. 

The final phase of the Government's vaccine strategy includes children under the age of 16 "if recommended," with health authorities saying regulatory approval for that age group will require more data.

Uncertainty remains over whether herd immunity against the virus is possible, as officials don't yet know how effective vaccines are in preventing transmission.

The Health Department boss has told a parliamentary committee there are still many unknowns.

"It's quite possible to get the proper definition of herd immunity we may need to vaccinate children, and children we know don't get the disease very often but some of them do get it, particularly teenagers," Professor Murphy said.

By late February — just a few weeks from now — the first people to receive a COVID-19 vaccine in Australia are expected to get their first jab.

It's a huge logistical challenge to vaccinate everybody in Australia who wants to be, so the Government is grouping people based on things such as their job and how vulnerable they are to the disease.

The group you're in determines when you'll be able to get the vaccine.

Find out where you sit here.

The hotspot was announced on Monday after a hotel quarantine worker tested positive in the city.

Anyone currently in mandatory quarantine in the NT from the region will now be able to exit.

NT Chief Health Officer Dr Hugh Heggie said he was satisfied with the quick public health response in the state.

"We went hard and wide, fast in response to the positive case of a quarantine worker in Western Australia to protect the health of Territorians," Dr Heggie said.

The pandemic has seen all the states and territories close their borders to non-essential travel at various points, in response to coronavirus cases.

Professor Brendan Murphy has told a parliamentary committee all the jurisdictions have shown they're capable of contact tracing and controlling outbreaks.

Here's what he had to say: "I would hope state border closures will be a thing of the past soon, once we have the vast majority, the vulnerable population vaccinated, I would hope the states and health officials would feel sufficiently relaxed to tolerate small outbreaks." 

Here’s some more news out of the House of Representatives committee discussing the COVID-19 vaccines, coming from the Specialist Reporting Team’s Nick Sas.

Therapeutic Goods Administration Deputy Secretary John Skerritt says his team are likely to assess "several" more vaccines in the coming 18 to 24 months.

He said some of the vaccines he'd seen around — but not yet assessed — included nasal spray vaccines and vaccines in a pill form, however that vaccine "did not give good results so far".

He said the TGA and Border Force had also seen some black market vaccines marketed.

He said they were not a "significant issue" so far but they were "very carefully" watching the area.

"There was a massive concern over the number of black market tests, masks and medicines that claimed to cure COVID-19, and we had over a 1,000 cases [we looked into]," he said.

Speaking on more legitimate vaccines, he said the Government is understood to be in discussion with a dozen vaccine manufactures outside of Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Novavax.

"I suspect there will be several vaccines going through our system in the next 18 to 24 months," Professor Skerritt added. 

If you want to read about some of the other — more genuine — vaccines in development, this story is a good start.

Is the Bushfire blog on today?

-Maylander

Hi Maylander, there isn't one for the time being, no. 

But you can keep up to date with the latest in our main story here.