A leading Australian infectious diseases and vaccine expert has answered some of the growing questions about the country's vaccine rollout, including the topic of choosing between AstraZeneca and Pfizer.

9News talked with Associate Professor Paul Griffin, who has worked on COVID's frontline at the Mater Hospital in Brisbane. He has overseen more than 100 clinical trials of vaccine as a part of the Nucleus Network.

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With the number of blood clotting cases in Australia due to the COVID vaccine now in the double figures, how concerned should we be?

Dr Griffin: Well, obviously, it would be better if we had a vaccine with no significant side effects, but unfortunately, such a vaccine doesn't exist. It's been really good; we've identified this early, we've changed the vaccine to address this risk, and we're constantly assessing the benefits versus the risks – and it's very clear at the moment the benefits far outweigh the risks.

Is it natural for the community to be worried, though? 

At this stage, the vaccine is still very effective, especially when you compare it to the small risk, and this risk, while significant, remains very rare, and we're still talking about less than once per 100,000 people vaccinated.

Talk to me in simple terms, if you can, about what's happening with this immune response we're getting in these cases

We're still looking into what's driving this – it does appear to be an immune response that's causing that, potentially one against a clotting cell … so there are some antiplatelet antibodies involved. Still, there's lots of good work to work out exactly what's causing this.

What we'd like to see is a way of knowing who's at risk and not subjecting them to this vaccine, and maybe using an alternate in those people if we can identify it.

Now, the occurrence (of clotting) at the moment is being assessed at one in 150,000 -170,000 people? 

That's exactly right, and what that means is it's extremely rare – so the vast majority of people won't get this very rare side effect and of the people who do and we're now talking of around 11 cases.

While in our country right now, the risk of getting COVID-19 is very low, that might not be the case forever. But also, the risk of not getting vaccinated includes our need to rely on things like border restrictions and lockdowns to keep the virus at bay – so if we get enough people vaccinated, we won't need to use those measures as much.

Could we talk a bit about underlying health problems and the extent to which that could make you more at risk of clotting, such as if you're overweight, a smoker or if you're on the pill?

While they all might be risk factors from traditional clots, which you might get while you are flying or after an operation, they don't seem to be risk factors for this rare, unusual clotting syndrome."

What about the family history – we're hearing people say, "Oh, my mum had a blood clot problem", does that put that person at greater risk?

No, again, that's a risk factor for traditional clotting, not for this rare clotting syndrome that's likely associated with the vaccine.

What about the comparison with Deep Vein Thrombosis? We know people are saying this has happened to me after a long-haul flight. Are those people right to be concerned?

I think they're right to ask the question, but again … this is a really rare, unusual clotting syndrome, so those kinds of deep vein thrombosis are very common, but it's a very different process to this one that we're concerned about.

And is there anything we can do to reduce the risk of (the clotting) from happening?

Not at the moment, a lot of good work is happening to see if we can predict who might be of higher risk, but at the moment, we don't know of any way to change that.

And what are the symptoms (of blood clotting) that we should be aware of?

The main symptom occurs not in the first day or (second day) where we do expect things like a headache or some aches and pains. It typically occurs between (the fourth and 20th day) and involves more significant pain or discomfort.

Can you ask your GP, for example, if 'I don't want to have the AstraZeneca, can I wait for the Pfizer?' 

That's a bit tricky at the moment because we still have issues with that Pfizer vaccine and we're still using that in a prioritised manner, so if people are genuinely concerned, I'd encourage them to discuss with their GP or vaccine provider.

So what do you say to people who say "I'm going to wait"?

I understand that there's some concerns … at the moment we've heard so much about these events, but what we know is that the vaccine remains very effective and while there are some risks, the benefits of this vaccine still far outweigh those risks.

Is there an urgency about getting the vaccine as soon as possible?

While we know the risk of severe complications from COVID is very low, that's unlikely to be the case forever, and in the age group who are recommending this vaccine, the complications from COVID infection are very significant.

A man buying a Mother's Day gift at an Adelaide IGA armed himself with a large knife to chase an accused robber out of the store, following a violent scuffle.

The incident took place at Hackham IGA yesterday afternoon, when a man allegedly refused to pay for the goods he'd gathered.

"He was screaming, yelling, abusing all the staff," owner Baggio Wang said.

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One staff member, a 15-year-old girl, was reduced to tears.

A shopper approached the man and tried to get him to leave.

The pair wrestled, with the shopper eventually having his shirt torn off.

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He ran into the back of the store and emerged with a machete used to cut fruit, chasing the alleged robber and a friend out of the store.

Mr Wang said the shopper was "a really nice guy" who had been in to buy some Mother's Day gifts.

Police are investigating the incident.

A Queensland dad who called Triple Zero after his pregnant wife's waters broke found himself being coaxed through handling his own daughter's delivery.

It was about 6am last Wednesday when Ipswich woman Navjot Kaur rang her husband Ravideep Singh to tell him their new baby was on the way.

"She was saying, can you come here quickly, the baby's coming – and I was saying, try not to push, just hold it a little," Mr Singh said.

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Informed by Ms Kaur that there was no question of "holding" the baby, Mr Singh called Triple Zero when he got home.

Emergency medical dispatcher Allie Roser took it as her first call of the day, and after sending an ambulance, helped talk Mr Singh through delivering the baby.

"You can see part of the baby now?" she said at one point during the call.

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"Exactly, I can see the hairs," Mr Singh replied.

The paramedics arrived just minutes before the couples' new daughter entered the world. A relieved Mr Singh cut the umbilical cord.

Less than a week on, the emergency personnel have been reunited with the family.

"Thanks are not enough," Ms Kaur said.

It was a Good Samaritan act that turned Troy Logan's life into a living nightmare.

The interstate truckie was on his way to visit his brother in Sydney when he witnessed a four-wheel drive plough at high speed into a family sleeping in their car in a rest bay.

Jumping from his car, Mr Logan called Triple Zero. Confronted by a horror scene, he immediately sprang into action.

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Switching off the smoking engine of the four-wheel drive, Mr Logan helped occupants out, calming a panicked toddler whose unconscious mother lay over him in the back of the family car and reassuring another boy trapped in the rear shelf.

Then, in long grass nearby, Mr Logan discovered a man in his 20s groaning with severe head injuries after being thrown from the car in the crash.

Flagging down emergency services and directing bystanders, Mr Logan cradled the young man in his arms, used a towel to try to stem the bleeding from his head, and consoled him as his condition worsened.

Within minutes, the young man had a seizure, his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he drew his last breath.

Four and a half years later, the trauma and horror of that day have taken over Mr Logan's life.

"I don't have much of a life anymore," he told 9News.

"I've had two nervous breakdowns, I have had 12 lots of electric shock therapy, I don't go out of the house unless I have to and I used to drive trucks all over Australia.

"It's just destroying me from the inside out."

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Compulsory third party insurance (CTP) is supposed to help people like Mr Logan.

Drivers each pay hundreds of dollars a year into CTP, also known as green slips, to ensure victims of accidents are compensated for injuries, treatment, and time off work.

But in practice, the system is failing people like Mr Logan, who has received zero compensation to date.

He is one of many NSW road accident victims who can't reach an agreement on claims with an insurer and are instead facing years of delays to see medical assessors, the independent experts appointed by the NSW Government's Personal Injury Commission, to get a resolution.

Lawyers report it's becoming a major issue, prolonging victim suffering and making cases more complicated and difficult to resolve because of elapsed time.

Court cases cannot proceed until the assessments are undertaken.

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In Mr Logan's case, a medical assessor found last year his psychiatric injuries were caused by the accident he attended on the Hume Highway near Gundagai on October 29, 2016 — but then the insurer contested his claim again and so Mr Logan is again waiting to see another medical assessor.

"The longer this goes on, the more it actually destroys me," Mr Logan said.

"It's hard to keep going each day, it's a struggle.

"[CTP] is supposed to help people but when you need the help, they do everything to actually call you a liar or a con artist … fair enough, there are people like that, but there are genuine people like myself who have got so much overwhelming evidence.

"The system is definitely broken … there's so many people left out in the cold. It's just wrong."

Paul Singh, of Shine Lawyers, says he has up to 40 clients who have waited more than a year to see a medical assessor.

"No one knows how unfair the system is unless you have actually been in a motor vehicle accident which has changed your life around due to someone else's negligence," he said.

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Adam Cook is another accident victim who has faced years of waiting. He was hit head-on by a car while riding his motorbike in the Tweed Valley on October 16, 2016.

"My left leg shattered, from the knee right down to the ankle, and my left shoulder was broken," he says.

The 59-year-old still hasn't received a cent for loss of income and medical costs. Proceedings have stalled while he waits to see a medical assessor.

"It's just been an absolute joke," he said.

To add insult to injury, Mr Cook took time off work and caught a flight to Sydney for a scheduled assessment last month, only to be told by the doctor it had been cancelled.

He doesn't have a new appointment.

His life has been irrevocably damaged.

"I can't surf anymore and I've surfed all my life, I can't dance anymore and I've danced all my life," he said.

"It just wrecked my life."

The NSW Personal Injury Commission (PIC), a newly formed independent statutory tribunal that took over from the State Insurance Regulatory Authority's former Dispute Resolution Service, is responsible for CTP claim disputes.

In a written statement, a PIC spokesperson said in-person medical examinations had to be suspended last year as a result of the pandemic.

"Since 1 March, the new Commission has been working to reduce the numbers of medical assessments delayed by the pandemic as quickly as we can," the spokesperson said.

"As restrictions have eased, we have recommenced in-person examinations and are endeavouring to give priority to those cases that have been on the list for the longest period.

"We are confident that we can achieve a normal operating situation in the short to medium term."

The Federal Government is "banking" on international travel returning to some form of normal next year as it prepares to deliver the 2021-22 Budget tomorrow.

Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack told Today the government was hopeful 2022 could be the year that Australia opens its borders.

"We're hoping, we're counting, we're banking on, of course, international travel being back to some sort of pre-COVID normality next year," he said.

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"We'll take the best advice from medical experts as we've done the whole way through."

However, messaging continues to be inconsistent, with Prime Minister Scott Morrison at the weekend suggesting there was no appetite for international borders to open anytime soon.

In a Facebook post yesterday, Mr Morrison clarified the country's borders would only open when it is "safe to do so", but rejected the idea of "fortress Australia" posed by media reports.

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"We still have a long way to go, and there are still many uncertainties ahead," he said.

"Australia's COVID suppression strategy has not changed to an 'elimination' strategy nor is 'zero cases' our goal."

https://www.facebook.com/scottmorrison4cook/posts/4229454307098940

Mr McCormack today said the government was on the same page when it came to borders reopening.

"We want open borders, of course we do," he said.

"We want our planes bringing migrants, we want planes bringing tourists, we want planes bringing people who will seek permanent residency to fill those 43,000 jobs that are going in regional Australia right now.

"We'll only do it when it's safe to do so."

The Federal Budget is set to deliver 30,000 more jobs through spending on "vital infrastructure" including roads, rail and freight networks.

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The aged care sector is also set to get a cash injection of an extra $18 billion over four years, while the national disability insurance sector will get an additional $12 billion.

Despite the government staring down a trillion-dollar debt, Mr McCormack said he had "every confidence" in the ability of Australians to grow the economy.

"This budget is going to secure Australia's future through the recovery process and I've got every confidence in Australia's ability to do just that," he said.

9News Political Editor Chris Uhlmann said the government aimed to force the unemployment rate down below five per cent.

"If you go back to the 1970s, unemployment rose above that mark and has been on average about six per cent ever since," he said.

"The government will keep spending until it gets down."