Senator RENNICK: I don’t have those particular New South Wales health numbers in front of me, but vaccinated 1, 2, 3, 4 groups all have higher numbers of hospital transmission and ICU admission. Prof. Kelly: We know, absolutely, without hesitation, that, with fully vaccinated people, just two doses is enough to give at least a 30-times less chance of being hospitalised—in Australia; that’s Australian data. Senator RENNICK: Based on what, because the non-clinical report said – Senator Gallagher: Based on vaccination data. Prof. Kelly: Based on the truth and facts. Senator RENNICK: Be more specific than that. Actually quote the data source, please. Prof. Kelly: That’s the data source from the national data that we have, in the Commonwealth, which is provided to us by the states and territories. Senator RENNICK: Can you provide that to me? I haven’t seen the state data outside New South Wales. Prof. Kelly: I’m very happy to provide that to you on notice.

Question Number: 6 PDR Number: SQ22-000357 Date Submitted: 08/11/2022 Department or Body: Department of Health As COVID transmission continues, it is expected that the total number of COVID-19 infections among fully vaccinated people, including those that experience severe illness (i.e. hospitalisation, ICU admission or death), will rise. This does not mean the vaccines are not working. As seen globally and in Australia, people who are fully vaccinated are far less likely to develop severe disease than those who are not vaccinated. Based on data in the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (NNDSS), in jurisdictions with high completeness of vaccination status among COVID-19 associated deaths, the proportion of cases who have died is higher among non-vaccinated cases than fully vaccinated cases. This emphasises the continued importance of vaccination for preventing severe illness. • In cases with an illness onset between 15 December 2021 and 4 September 2022, the proportion of people who have died is more than 22 times as high in unvaccinated compared to fully vaccinated people aged 12-49 years, over 32 times as high in people aged 50 to 69 years and over 14 times as high in people aged 70 and over (Table 1).