The Boothroyd Surgery

We have finally got ourselves organised to start giving COVID VACCINES at the surgery. We will have the Pfizer vaccine in both adult and children's ( 5-11 years) strengths available from the first week of June. We will be booking people in groups of 6 to avoid wasting vaccines. We have a list started at the surgery, please ring up and get on the list and we will arrange the times from there.
Please remember the current vaccines are only lasting 3-4 months.
If you are over 65 years old or have an immune problem you are entitled to a fourth dose 4 months after your third dose.
Australia has a very poor uptake of COVID vaccines in children, I wonder if this is because parents are not aware of the nasty long term effects we are seeing from this virus that are reduced by vaccination.
For other questions about when you are entitled to your next dose and to get on our list, please call the surgery

I thought I would share some thoughts on COVID isolation. Having recently recovered from a mild case of COVID ( still pretty unpleasant but not as bad as some of the Rhinovirus illnesses I have had in the last few years ) I was faced with what to do 7 days after my positive test ( both RAT and PCR although I think the PCR was perhaps unnecessary).
The rules are I was allowed back to work without another test so I went back to work🤷🏼.
However some further research reveals that 16% of people are still contagious after 7 days😳. What to do?
I decided to continue to obsessively wear my N95 mask ( means I get quite dehydrated because I don't take it off ) and sanitise like mad. We also have high volume extractor fans throughout the surgery to keep the air fresh.
My research suggests that if your RAT is positive there is a 90% chance that you are still infectious!
Only 1% of people are still infectious by Day 14.
I think there are good grounds to wear an N 95 mask with a proper seal ( worn correctly you should not be able to smell perfume etc) for another week after you finish isolating.
Washing your hands with soap or sanitiser before handling things that others will touch is a nice idea but the VAST majority of coronavirus spread is by airborne droplets and aerosols.
Recent data suggests up to a third of the world's population has had COVID! That's amazingly infectious.

Sometimes it is difficult to give detailed data about COVID vaccines that is specific to an individual, especially as Omicron is new and somewhat vaccine resistant.
This chart gives a detailed breakdown of how COVID vaccines reduce risk of death based on 90% Omicron 10% Delta as currently circulating in the community. The research is locally based and reputable.

This chart is only about risk of death so other parameters such as infection risk, transmission risk, hospitalisation and long-COVID are not here and for younger people these are perhaps more relevant numbers.

https://www.immunisation coalition.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/2022_01_25_Covid-risk-chart_logos_included.pdf

www.immunisationcoalition.org.au

This risk calculator for vaccines and COVID has been produced by a task force of local academic GPs and professors, well researched and referenced.
If you are uncertain about the benefits of vaccination for you specifically this tool will present the info in a clear fashion. It lacks showing the benefits of the reduced chance of transmitting COVID if you are vaccinated but perhaps the personal perspective is more persuasive these days.
Anyway I hope many of you can share it.

Covid Risk Calculator | Immunisation Coalition Australian Covid Risk Calculator by the Immunisation Coalition