Vaccine indemnity

National Cabinet announces no-fault indemnity scheme for GPs to administer AstraZeneca-Shots. The Prime Minister, announced on Monday that the National Cabinet has decided to provide GPs with no-fault legal immunity for all adverse or fatal events following the administering of a C-19-shot.
“To support the vaccination-of people across Australia, we will be implementing a new no-fault indemnity scheme for general practitioners who administer Covid-vaccines”.
There have been numerous reports recently of GPs refusing to give AstraZeneca to under-60s due to concerns over potential legal liabilities in the face of the ongoing blood clot problem. According to an SMH article in May, GPs were worried ‘they could face expensive lawsuits if they advised a patient under 50 to have AstraZeneca’s vaccine and there was a severe side effect’.
This followed advice from the AMA and Australian Technical Advisory Group (ATAGI) on Immunisation who have been advising doctors not to administer AstraZeneca to people under 50 except in exceptional circumstances. ATAGI recently updated this advice, saying that the A-Z shot should now only be given to people over 60, because of increased concerns over patients developing thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS).
The PM said on Monday that “the ATAGI advice does not preclude persons under 60 from getting the AstraZeneca vaccine”.
By giving GPs indemnity, the Prime Minister said, anyone wishing to “get the Astra-Zeneca-vaccine, then we would encourage you to go and have that discussion with your GP”.
An important consideration underlying the National Cabinet decision to grant doctors’ legal indemnity, are significant concerns at a high level over coronavirus-vaccine-wastage. During the press conference following Monday’s emergency Cabinet meeting, the PM admitted Australia has used up all its available doses of Pfizer and, currently, the only doses left, are Astra-Zeneca ones.
The remaining 290,000 doses are, moreover, all held by GPs, with government clinics now having run out. Hence the need to encourage GPs to use those doses, not just for people over 50 or 60, as ATAGI recommends, but on everyone. But the government needs to be quick, because those 290,000 doses are all due to expire by mid to late September.
Don’t forget either, Australia has signed a pre-purchase agreement with Astra-Zeneca for over 58 million doses. That means they are contractually required to purchase those shots, regardless of what ATAGI or AMA recommend.
Again, little to no discussion on any of this in the mainstream media.
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Emergency powers extended

On 16 June 2021, right in the middle of ‘Budget Week’, the Minister for Health, Yvette D’Ath, tabled a new Bill extending the Public Health Emergency Response measures from 30 September 2021 to 30 April 2022.
The Public Health and Other Legislation (Further Extension of Expiring Provisions) Amendment Bill 2021 extends a range of emergency measures, including the extraordinary powers of the Chief Health Officer, Dr Jeannette Young.
These powers include the ability to impose restrictions on the free movement of citizens, their ability to travel, conduct a business, attend school, church or sport, as well as the power to issue mandates on mask wearing, social distancing rules, the numbers of persons who can gather at any one time, border closures, area lockdowns and quarantine mandates.
The Bill also extends emergency measures, and creates new ones, for the care of mental health patients and persons with cognitive or intellectual disability, the operation of prisons and youth detention centres and related measures.
As far as I have been able to tell, no mention of the Bill, its contents or tabling last Wednesday has received a single mention in the media or state legal bodies.
This is surprising. By 30 April 2022, Queenslanders will have been living under ‘state of emergency’ conditions for more than two years, with every chance the date will be extended yet again, judging on past experience.
This is something that warrants public discussion, if not debate, I would have thought.
From the time Queenslanders were first told we needed a ‘short, sharp lockdown’ to ‘flatten the curve’, the Government has released no ‘exit strategy’ or ‘roadmap’ for a way out of the current ‘emergency’ conditions – an ‘emergency’ which many agree, is starting to look ominously permanent.
The Bill was referred to the Health Committee by the Minister in the Speech, however it appears the Bill did not go to the Health Committee, of which I am a member, but appears instead on the list for the Economics and Governance Committee.
The Committee is due to report back to Parliament by 6 August 2021, and has called for submissions on the Bill by 5pm on Wednesday 7 July 2021, so only a week from today.
I hope as many people as possible will lodge a submission on the Bill, if for no other reason than to let the Government know that some Queenslanders ARE still paying attention, and even some who continue to believe in out-dated democratic principles like the need for public debate, transparency and accountable government.
Send your submission to Email: egc@parliament.qld.gov.au
Or Post to:
Committee Secretary
Economics and Governance Committee
Parliament House
George Street
Brisbane Qld 4000
Submissions must include your full name and at least two of the following:
o mailing address
o email address
o daytime telephone number.
Further details can be found at the Economics and Governance Website:
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