[Thread] Have the new #COVIDV19 jab rules @healthza implemented in Feb resulted in a higher uptake?
- Early data = encouraging (🧵= details)
- What were the changes?
* 2nd #Pfizer jab = 21 days after 1st
* Pfizer booster = 90 days after 2nd
* #JnJ booster = 60 days after 1st
2. When did the changes kick in? 1. #JnJ: 21 Feb #Pfizer: 23 Feb 2. What happened?
Comparison of uptake on 16 Feb + 2 March (1 wk after new rules):
* Increases:
- EC: 113%, KZN: 64%; LP: 96% (private sites)
- WC: 66% (public sites)
- NC (93%) (public +private sites)
3. What changes did @healthza see in uptake in provinces before and after the new rules?
- Uptake in all provinces increased
- Largest increases
MP: 1.7%
FS : 1.3%
GP 1.3%
4. Was there higher uptake among men (they have lower uptake than women in general) before and after the introduction of new rules?
Yes, men's uptake (1.2%) increased slightly more than women's (1%)
5. Was there higher uptake among people of 18-34 years before and after the new rules? This group has the lowest uptake of all age groups and is age group that now needs to be targeted most.
Yes, 18-34 (2.1%) had the highest increase in uptake of all age groups
6. What does the data tell us? It could potentially be that the new rules are leading to an increased uptake of 2nd #Pfizer doses and all boosters (but the data @healthza presented = only compared two individual days; we need more more comparisons to be able to see a trend).
7. Data presented looked @ doses in general, so it didn't break down which doses = 2nd #Pfizer, boosters or 1st doses. But @healthza's Nicholas Crisp says, the dpt = concerned that most doses = follow-up doses, rather than 1st doses (so fewer new people = coming to be vaxxed).
8. How many #COVID19 doses of March 3 were 1st doses (so new people coming to be vaxxed)?
29,780 (27.7%) out of 107,341 doses (the rest = 2nd #Pfizer doses and Pfizer and JnJ boosters)
[Thread] 1. What's happening with #COVID19 hospital admissions in SA?
Waasila Jassat, @nicd_sa:
- Over the past 14 days, admissions have decreased between 18% and 59% in all provinces
2. Your risk of hospitalisation due to an #Omicron infection is about 50% lower than in Wave 1,2,3 in SA (the risk for each wave = slightly different)
Most admissions in Wave 4 (#Omicron) = people between 20 and 39 years. In Wave 1,2,3 = admissions of people between 40 and 70.
3. Even though there were more admissions among younger people during our #Omicron wave, people's risk of admission still increased with age. So the older you were, the more likely you were to get very sick with #COVID.
- Our #Omicron wave is over
- There was a small uptick when schools and colleges opened and restrictions were also eased, but infections are now down to "in between wave" levels
@Dr_Groome: 1. BA.2 (the version that's now spreading around the world, as opposed to BA.1, the original version) 2. BA.2 (dark orange on pie charts) = more transmissible, but SA data shows it doesn't make people sicker than BA.1
3. These graphs show how SA's #COVID19 cases have decreased (top) and how the BA.2 version of #Omicron has increased/spread (bottom).
#JoePhaahla: 1. 20 million+ vaccine doses in stock 2. There's been an increase in take-up over the past week 3. But there's still a risk that 100,000 doses that will expire on March 31 won't be used in time + need to be discarded
2. #JoePhaahla: 1. SA is working with #COVAX to take up doses in SA that risk expiry before use and then return them later (so a kind of exchange programme) 2. Programmes right now specifically target the 18-34 age group where uptake is the lowest
3. Nicholas Crisp, @HealthZA:
More exact count of nr of #COVID19 doses in SA: 25 mil doses
- 13 mil = #Pfizer
- Pfizer = more difficult to store than #JnJ - once removed from low temperatures = limited shelve life
- All JnJ doses only expire in 2023
🧵1. Will SA vax kids between 5 + 11 years @ #COVID19?
- The vax MAC = not made a recommendation 2 @HealthZA. @SAHPRA1 = not approved vax 4 this group yet
- But if they say "yes" = no money 2 buy the jabs. Kids jabs = different from adult jabs. We can't use the ones we've got.
2. Do other countries vaccinate kids between 5 + 11 @ #COVID19?
- Just over a quarter of kids between 5 + 11 = vaxxed in the US
- UK = vaxxing vulnerable kids (for now)
- Sweden = only vaxxing kids vulnerable to respiratory diseases
- Full story: bit.ly/3JVGmzu
3. What about our current #COVID19 vax stock?
- In total we've got 27 million doses
- 400,000 #Pfizer doses will expire on March 31
- 7 million #Pfizer doses will expire in June/July
- Full podcast: bit.ly/3BYCFqc
BREAKING [Thread]
From Wed, 23rd Feb, you can: 1. Get a 2nd #Pfizer jab 21 days after a 1st jab (previously = 42 days) 2. Get a Pfizer booster (3rd jab) 3 mnths after a 2nd jab (previously = 6 months) or choose 2 have a #JnJ booster after 2 #Pfizer shots (boosters = only for 18+)
2. From TOMORROW, Mon, 21st Feb, people of 18+ who received 1 #JnJ jab can:
- Choose to have a #Pfizer booster (instead of a 2nd #JnJ shot [booster] after 1 JnJ shot), in other words, you'll be able to "mix and match"
3. What should you do if a site has only 1 brand of #COVID19 vaccine available?
@HealthZA: 1. You should go with the same jab that you got 4 vaccination as a booster (or look for a different site) 2. Homologous boosting (booster = same as your other doses) = preferred