What's That Rash?

Millions of Queenslanders will be hoping for good news today when announcements are made whether Brisbane's lockdown will end or continue in some way. Yesterday saw two community cases of transmission in Queensland, and one popping up in northern New South Wales. While it's hoped that health authorities are getting on top of things, it will still be a few days before we know for sure. That's on to...

The extent of the outbreak in Brisbane has become clearer, after authorities revealed that they were dealing with two separate coronavirus clusters. And at the heart of both outbreaks are health care workers who have somehow contracted it from COVID positive patients in hospital. As they work closely with patients, healthcare workers are particularly vulnerable to contracting the virus. But on tod...

Until yesterday, the outbreak in Brisbane looked small and manageable, but it just shows how fast things can change in a pandemic. Today is the first day greater Brisbane will spend in at least a three day snap lockdown, after a rise in community transmission cases. So on today's Coronacast what changed so quickly? And why do we need lockdowns now when we have vaccines? Also on today's show: * My...

It's been a while, but an Australian state is again dealing with an outbreak of COVID-19. Queensland detected a positive case of the so-called UK variant - B117 - on Thursday. A second case was detected over the weekend that may be the link to the existing cluster. In a positive sign, the number of tests in Queensland jumped over the weekend - but considering how long the person was infectious out...

Australia's expert advisory group on vaccines has recommended the COVID-19 vaccine be deferred for people who have a history of specific rare blood clotting disorders. The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation says for the time being it recommends that vaccination with any COVID-19 vaccine should be deferred for people who have a history of two very rare and specific conditions. This...

There are still so many things we don't fully understand about COVID, but one of the big mysteries is long COVID. Experienced by up to 30 per cent of people who get the virus, long COVID can be debilitating and incredibly frustrating and scary for people who have it because it's so hard to provide solid answers to questions. But in a large survey a new study reports the most common symptoms, sayin...

The Therapeutic Goods Administration has signed off on the release of 800,000 locally manufactured AstraZeneca vaccines, which might soon help boost the total number of shots delivered in Australia. So far, Australia's rollout of the vaccine has been slow - due in part to limited supply but also due to the way the system has been set up to deliver vaccines. But the reality is that to vaccinate the...

Researchers in Germany say they've identified what could be behind the reports of blood clotting in people who have had the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine. The German team - in yet to be released pre-print research - say that the vaccine could in rare circumstances cause an autoimmune reaction that leads to clots. The findings have yet to be peer reviewed, but the team says people who are likely...

The UK and Europe are vaccinating people in their millions but the scale of the pandemic there means they're still in catch up mode. Experts have warned that variants that may not be fully covered by our current vaccines are continuing to emerge and spread. So on today's Coronacast, while here in Australia we're still sitting relatively pretty with very few cases, what does this mean for our abili...

For those with symptoms of COVID months after being infected, there could be good news on the horizon. People with long COVID report being fatigued and unable to concentrate after contracting the virus. Now a study - which has not yet been peer-reviewed - has found that some long COVID sufferers report feeling significantly better in the days after receiving a coronavirus vaccine. On today's Coron...

The government has been urging Australians to embrace covid vaccines but now that phase 1b is just days away, the infrastructure underpinning this is being put to the test. About 6 million Aussies fall into the coming phase, and about 1000 GP clinics are part of the rollout plan. But many people, keen to get the vaccine and trying to book appointments, are being told clinics listed on the governme...

Australian health authorities and regulators have assured the public that there is currently no evidence to suggest the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine is not safe or is causing blood clots. It's come in response to several European countries pausing the AstraZeneca vaccine rollout amid blood clot concerns. The European Medicines Agency is currently investigating reports, and is due to report back...

It's now several weeks into Australia's vaccine rollout, and while people are being immunised daily, there hasn't exactly been a massive ramp up. 165,000 people have been immunised so far, which is behind what the Federal Government had hoped to achieve. The target was 4 million people initially set for early April, which is only a few weeks away. So on today's Coronacast, what's the hold up with...

Coronavirus has slipped past our infection control systems once again, with health authorities in two states again chasing down the virus. In NSW, the hotel quarantine system seems to have been breached with a vaccinated security guard testing positive over the weekend. And in Queensland, a doctor has been infected after assessing a known COVID positive patient in hospital. So on today's Coronacas...

When public figures talk about the coronavirus vaccine, you might hear that it's amazing that it was developed so quickly. While many are keen to talk up the amazing efforts of scientists, the statement that the vaccine was developed quickly can actually cause many people to worry. And in reality, the coronavirus vaccines being rolled out in Australia were NOT developed all that quickly, and were...

A year ago today, the World Health Organisation officially declared the coronavirus outbreak a "pandemic". In reality, it'd been clear for some time that the SARS-CoV-2 virus wasn't going to go away anytime soon. Cases outside China had been growing fast and Italy was going into its first big lockdown. So on today's Coronacast, a look back to what we've learnt and how far we've come. Also on today...

In the scramble to get the coronavirus vaccines through rigorous safety and dosage clinical trials, many types of people weren't included in the studies. One massive group are people who are affected - or have been affected - by cancer. People with cancer are more vulnerable to contracting COVID-19 and have a higher risk of suffering severe disease, so a vaccine is a vital part of their health car...

The global effort to vaccinate as many people as possible, as quickly as possible is gathering pace, but new variants have thrown a few curve balls. Australia has secured enough vaccines to immunise everyone several times over, but would a better long-term public health strategy be to vaccinate those in surrounding poorer countries first? The idea behind this is that large COVID-19 affected popula...

In a worrying turn, Europe has had an uptick in new coronavirus infections last week ending six weeks straight of declines. More than a million cases were recorded last week, with The World Health Organisation saying variants first identified in South Africa, the United Kingdom and Brazil are behind the rise. Closer to home, two people have tested positive to the so-called South African variant wh...

It seems we can't go a day without some new coronavirus variant popping up somewhere in the world. There's the so-called UK variant, the Brazil variant, the Californian variant and now the Russian variant. And to make it even more confusing, the name of the variant doesn't necessarily mean that's where the variant actually came from. So on today's Coronacast, what are the variants? What is with th...

With the passing of another day, more Australians have been vaccinated against COVID. But as more and more of us get either the Pfizer vaccine or the Astra vaccine, proving it may become important as we take steps to reopen borders and the economy. One strategy that's been tried overseas in countries like Israel are what's known as vaccine passports - the idea being that to get into a movie or a g...

The first week of coronavirus vaccinations has now rolled out across Australia, and the data show that already we've missed our goals. According to analysis by the ABC, the country has fallen short of its target, delivering half the expected number of shots. Health Minister Greg Hunt says the Federal Government remains committed to meeting the end of October target. So on today's Coronacast, what...

With limited amounts of coronavirus vaccines available, health care organisations are taking extreme steps to ensure not a drop is wasted. Rollout plans that would normally take many months to develop have been done in mere weeks to ensure essential workers at the nation's borders are as protected as possible. On today's Coronacast, how is the rollout going on the front line of the vaccine rollout...

The AstraZeneca vaccine has arrived in Australia, and the Federal Government says it will start rolling out to people in the priority phase 1a group within the next few weeks. But the evidence suggests it's not as effective as the Pfizer shot at protecting people against new variants and preventing transmission. Australia's main risk from another coronavirus outbreak is a hotel quarantine leak, so...

At the moment life has returned to a COVID-normal in Australia with state borders gradually reopening after the outbreak in Melbourne. It comes as vaccines continue to rollout across the country, and a small but regular supply of the Pfizer shot arrives. So now we have access to a vaccine, how will that change how we respond to any outbreak that happens from now on? On today's Coronacast, will it...