Good morning all, it’s 1 March, 2021. Let’s see what’s happening today:
The federal health minister Greg Hunt has confirmed that the first 300,000 doses of the new AstraZeneca vaccine will start rolling out by next Monday. He also revealed the government “quietly†set up a “myth-busting unit†last year to address what he’s called “plainly ridiculous†misinformation surrounding the rollout of the Covid-19 vaccine, amid increasing concerns about the spread of false information and conspiracy theories.
In other vaccine news, some experts think Australia’s goal of vaccinating the entire adult population by October might just be feasible, even though it would require an extremely high daily rate of 180,000 doses. And new data suggests the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine may be less effective in people with obesity.
Legal experts are calling for an independent investigation of the historical rape alleged to have been committed by a federal cabinet minister, citing it as a “very serious†integrity issue. Anthony Albanese, while agreeing the matter is best handled by police, yesterday called it a “test†for Scott Morrison, who must decide if the minister should continue in his current position. He refused to say how he would handle a similar allegation against a Labor frontbencher, arguing that this was a hypothetical. But Liberal senator Sarah Henderson last night referred a rape allegation against an unnamed Labor member of parliament to the federal police.
The heads of hundreds of private schools across New South Wales will be briefed by the boss of the police sex crimes squad this week as the sector scrambles to address concerns raised by a viral petition that has gathered more than 3,000 testimonies of alleged sexual assault committed by high school students.
Two conservation scientists have been cleared of research misconduct by the University of Tasmania after a review sparked by complaints from logging industry representatives.
Chinese investment in Australia plunged by 61% last year, new data shows. But according to one researcher, this may be more about changed foreign investment settings than a strained economic relationship.
Thousands of Victorians may have missed out on early cancer diagnoses during the pandemic, potentially allowing the disease to progress past the chance of recovery and causing a “cancer spike†later on, the Cancer Council says.
