Daily News Roundup

 

Wednesday, February 24

Two elderly people in a Queensland aged care home have been given four times the amount of the COVID-19 Pfizer vaccine, Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt has confirmed.

An 88-year-old man and a 94-year-old woman were given the doses yesterday.  

Mr Hunt said both patients, from the Holy Spirit facility in Carseldine, were being monitored and neither had shown any signs of an adverse reaction to the doses.

The doctor who administered the doses has been stood down from the vaccine program. 

“I think it’s very important that we’re up front,” Mr Hunt said.

“The safeguards that were put in place immediately kicked into action and a nurse on the scene identified the fact that a higher than prescribed amount of the dose was given to two patients.

“Both patients are being monitored and both patients are showing no signs at all of an adverse reaction. But it is a reminder of the importance of the safeguards.”

Mr Hunt said there were “highly developed training modules” that were mandatory to complete by those administering the vaccine.

“In relation to the individual doctor, we’ll leave that to the investigation as to whether or not they either did not understand or did not complete it, but it was a serious breach in terms of following the protocol,” he said.

“Our advice is that both doses were administered consecutively and, as a consequence of that, the nurse stepped in immediately.

“This is an individual practitioner who has clearly made an error.”

Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly said several cases at facilities in Germany and the UK had also been incorrectly given higher doses in the early rollout of the vaccine.

“Again, the side effect profile was minimal, particularly in older people, so that gives us hope,” he said.

“However, when we were notified of this yesterday evening by the company concerned — that is doing the rollout in those facilities — we took immediate action.

“We’ve checked again on the patient welfare this morning and as the minister said, they’re both doing fine.”

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Defence Minister Linda Reynolds has taken medical leave and been admitted to hospital as a “precautionary measure”.

Senator Reynolds was due to address the National Press Club today, where she was expected to face questions about her handling of sexual allegations made by her former staffer, Brittany Higgins.

In a statement, Senator Reynolds said she was taking medical leave on the advice of her cardiologist, and that it related to a pre-existing medical condition.

The statement said Prime Minister Scott Morrison has phoned Senator Reynolds to “express his concern and sympathy”.

Ms Higgins plans to make a formal complaint to police today, alleging a male colleague raped her inside Senator Reynolds’s ministerial office in 2019.

Senator Reynolds has faced sustained pressure over her handling of the alleged rape complaint.

Ms Higgins said she hoped Senator Reynolds was “okay” and wished her “all the best for her recovery”.

Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne will act as Defence Minister until Senator Reynolds returns to work.

Health Minister Greg Hunt told reporters at Parliament House that Ms Reynolds had taken the leave reluctantly.

“Linda was desperate to appear before the National Press Club today, desperate to appear,” he said.

“It was only on the strongest medical advice that she took the reluctant decision not to do it.”

Senator Reynolds was the defence industry minister when the alleged rape occurred in March 2019.

Mr Morrison promoted her to Cabinet and the senior defence portfolio after the 2019 election.

She has faced internal pressure within the Coalition in the last week, with some MPs and senators telling the ABC they thought she should resign or be sacked.

Mr Hunt said Senator Reynolds needed support as she received medical assistance.

“I think our compassion, our focus on the needs of others in this, the most intense environment in the country, is something that all of us need to bring to the forth,” he said.

Labor’s defence spokesman Brendan O’Connor said he hoped Senator Reynolds would have a “quick and full recovery”.

“No matter the workplace or position, everybody’s health and wellbeing must be a priority.”

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Fifteen-time major golf tournament winner Tiger Woods is undergoing surgery for “multiple leg injuries” after his car rolled off a Los Angeles highway.

The LA County Sheriff’s Department said Woods showed “no evidence of impairment” from drugs or alcohol, but that he appeared to have been travelling at a “relatively greater speed than normal” in the accident on Tuesday morning local time.

Police said there were no skid marks or signs of braking.

Investigators will also look into whether Woods was distracted or on the phone, however this process may take several weeks.

They said the Genesis GV80 sports utility vehicle sustained major damage and 45-year-old Woods was removed from the wreck.

Emergency services said the interior of the car was” more or less intact … [which] gave him the cushion to survive”, adding that it would have been fatal otherwise due to the damage sustained at the front end of the car.

It was initially reported that Woods was removed from the car with the jaws of life, but emergency services crews said they used a special crowbar and an axe.

He was found conscious in a “stable condition with serious injuries” and was taken to a hospital and trauma centre in an ambulance, police said.

Police added he was travelling in a sloping, downhill area in Los Angeles that is considered to be a “traffic hotspot for collisions”.

“[Woods] hit a kerb, hit a tree and there were several rollovers during that process,” police said.

Woods’s manager Mark Steinberg said the golf star suffered multiple leg injuries in the crash.

“Tiger Woods was in a single-car accident this morning in California where he suffered multiple leg injuries. He is currently in surgery and we thank you for your privacy and support,” Mr Steinberg said.

Footage from a KABC-TV local television helicopter flying over the scene of the accident showed a dark grey Genesis sports utility vehicle on its side with the front end heavily damaged.

The crash occurred shortly before 7:15am Tuesday (local time), officials said.

Woods was in Los Angeles over the weekend as the tournament host of the Genesis Invitational at Riviera, where he presented the trophy.

He was to spend Monday and Tuesday filming with Discovery-owned GOLFTV, with whom he has an endorsement contract.