WA is almost certainly entering a third wave of Covid-19 with case numbers, which had plateaued now climbing, according to WA chief health officer Andy Robertson.
On the ABC Drive show yesterday, Mr Robertson said BA.4 and BA.5 were now becoming dominant variants in the state and daily cases were expected to rise to between 10,000 to 17,000 a day sometime during the next six weeks.
Mr Robertson said this would flow on to the number of people in hospital and potentially in ICU.
The Australian technical advisory group on immunisation (ATAGI) yesterday recommended that adults aged 50 to 64 years now receive a winter booster dose of a Covid-19 vaccine with adults aged 30 to 49 years also able to receive a winter booster dose but said the benefit for people in the latter age group was less certain.
It also recommended the interval between a recent SARS-CoV-2 infection or the first booster dose and a winter booster dose was now three months.
The update from ATAGI said individuals previously infected with SARS-CoV-2, irrespective of which variant it may have been, should continue to receive recommended vaccine doses, after an interval of three months, as prior infection alone would not provide sufficient protection against severe disease.
Federal Department of Health data published on July 8 shows 10,190 people have died from Covid-19 in Australia since the first case was reported with 408 of those deaths occurring in WA.ATAGI said the number of people ill from respiratory virus infections, including from Covid-19, had increased over the past few months, placing an increased strain on the Australian healthcare system, particularly hospitals.
“A surge in cases of Covid-19 from the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants is a contributing factor and is expected to worsen in the coming months,’’ the ATAGI said.
“Increasing the uptake of winter booster doses of Covid-19 vaccine in populations most at risk during this time is anticipated to play a limited, but important role in reducing the risk from Covid-19 to individuals and pressure on the healthcare system.’’
ATAGI said other public health and social measures, in addition to vaccination, would have the greatest impact against the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 surge in infections.
“This includes increased use of masks and increasing the use of antiviral treatment in people diagnosed with Covid-19, including in people aged 50 years and above,’’ the ATAGI update said.
So far governments, including the McGowan Government are resisting the call by health scientists to reintroduce mask-wearing and other measures.
Writing in The Conversation yesterday Professor Raina MacIntyre said Australia had abandoned masks and other measures such as QR codes and relied on vaccines to control Covid since late last year.
She said testing was expensive with many people unable to afford a regular supply of rapid antigen tests while PCR tests could cost someone more than $100.
Also antivirals were only available to restricted groups, unless they could pay for a private prescription.
Federal Department of Health data published on July 8 shows 10,190 Australians – most of whom have been aged 60 and over – have died since the first case was reported in January 2020.
Prof Raina MacIntyre said when there were no mask mandates, no mandated indoor air quality standards nor universal, affordable access to antivirals a fourth dose was crucial to save lives and reduce the load on the health system.
Meanwhile, up to July 7 more than 6.3 million confirmed deaths world-wide had been reported to the World Health Organization
