WAGGA'S health officials say regional Australia should consider themselves lucky with plans for a staged COVID-19 vaccination rollout.
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With the "luxury" of minimal, or in some cases zero, COVID-19 cases in many parts of regional NSW, including Wagga, the time spared for a gradual rollout will allow for greater management of any negative effects, according to representatives of the Murrumbidgee Local Health District.
The MLHD's Respiratory Protection Program Coordinator Frank Evola, who coordinates the COVID-19 vaccine program for the district, said Australia was "positioned very well" to effectively receive the vaccine.
"We are at a luxury with the fact we have a low level of circulating COVID-19, meaning we can take our time with a staged approach to the delivery of the vaccine," he said.
"The rest of the world, particularly the US and UK, are already delivering the vaccine so we can then fall in their footsteps and learn from any issues that arise from it."
One of the key issues that has arisen from the vaccine overseas is anaphylactic reactions, according to Mr Evola.
"What we've seen though is that early recognition and proper management is key to success, and that's something we can easily manage here," he said.
Mr Evola added that the other benefit of a staged rollout was the freedom to exercise caution.
"The Commonwealth and Ministry of Health are taking a cautious approach to the rollout of this vaccine, given some of the nuances of the vaccine itself," he said.
"It is a new type of vaccine, so with that in mind we want to make sure we fully understand how to manage it."
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One of the key differences in the COIVD-19 vaccine delivery is the storage requirements.
"AstraZeneca is an easier vaccine to manage from a cold chain perspective because it fits the normal requirements of a vaccination we would typically deal with, whereas the Pfizer alternative is a little bit more complicated because it requires cold storage of -70 degrees," he said.
"However, there is the capability to thaw it out and keep it within the 2-8 degree range for a decent period of time.
"The issue is that we'd be delivering this vaccine in summer in regional Australia, so we want to be certain we understand how it would respond to our conditions and make sure it is handled as cautiously as possible so nothing goes to waste."
With concerns over the mutant strains of the virus spreading since the vaccine was created, Mr Evola said they had seen "promising results" so far overseas.
"The recent Pfizer vaccine has been challenged against the UK strain with promising results for the efficacy of the vaccine against that," he said.
"It all comes down to dynamics of the mutations and where they sit in response to what the vaccine is targeting, but it's very promising to date to see the vaccine can manage most strands."