WHO epidemiologist Professor Mary-Louise McLaws says Brisbane will need at least four mass vaccination clinics if Australia is to achieve its goal of 85% vaccination by mid next year. Professor McLaws says Australia will need to administer 40,000 AstraZeneca vaccines per day and an additional 60,000 Pfizer vaccines per day starting in September to reach this goal. The proposed sites for mass vaccination facilities include stadiums, parks and university campuses which would be spread across the city to prevent congestion and an increased risk of infection.

Queensland Mother of two Clancy Gillingham has turned what started out as a side hustle into a thriving microgreen business at her home in Adelaide Park near Yeppoon.  Since starting growing 20 different types of microgreens which are immature versions of vegetables and herbs last year, Ms Gillingham now has up to 200 people she supplies at markets each week plus some local restaurants. According to research on microgreens, they can contain anywhere from four to fourty times more nutrients than their mature counterparts.

An independent report examining a proposal for a new coal seam gas drilling project near Chinchilla has warned of ‘sufficient uncertainty’ regarding the risk of contamination. The Arrow Energy proposal would include 208 coal seam gas wells in close proximity to the already-contaminated Linc Energy underground coal gasification plant. Arrow Energy says its project would not cause any further contamination, but the report says this claim is based on, quote, “simplification of a highly complex system”

As part of Australia’s first pilot program, Menulog have agreed to pay their drivers the minimum wage and superannuation contributions. The move will start in Sydney and has been welcomed by unions who say it’s a “watershed moment for the economy”. The managing director of Menulog has chosen to leave the independent contractor model and break away from other industry giants Uber and Deliveroo.

Indians are flocking to the Ganges River for the Hindu festival of Kumbh Mela despite the country being in the midst of a sharp rise in COVID-19 cases. Millions of Hindus arrived in the northern city of Haridwar to bathe in the Ganges, as they believe bathing in the holy river will cleanse them of their sins and bring salvation. However, the religious day has coincided with India overtaking Brazil to become the world’s second-worst COVID-19 affected country and with social distancing impossible on the banks of the river, cases are expected to spike further.

The spokesperson for Ukrainian President Vlodymyr Zelensky says the president’s request for a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin went unanswered amid rising tensions at the two countries’ shared border. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov denies having received the request and maintains that it is within Russia’s rights to deploy troops within its own territory as it sees fit. According to The Guardian, Russia now has eighty thousand troops stationed in the Ukrainian border region, its largest deployment in the area since it invaded Crimea in 2014.

Translink’s first 100% electrically powered bus made its first journey yesterday in the streets of Brisbane. Following impressive results during its trial period, the solar-powered bus took on the 254 route between Capalaba and Wellington Point. Queensland Transport Minister Mark Bailey says the bus’s introduction into the transport fleet is an exciting development that demonstrates the government’s commitment to a transition to clean energy.

Andrew Laming has been blocked from re-contesting the seat of Bowman by Queensland’s Liberal National Party after The Applicant Review Committee recommended they reject his application. Dr Laming is currently on medical leave for empathy training and counselling after Prime Minister Scott Morrison ordered him to take leave due to the harassment allegations against him. Dr Laming is also being investigated by The Australian Electoral Commission for potential breaches of electoral law.