Another big day, here are the main events:
We’re going to wind the blog down for the evening. Since then, mask compliance on trains and trams has been highest during outbreaks where the threat of infection was front of mind, and lowest during the lulls between waves.īut now it seems, that link between heightened vigilance and widespread community transmission has weakened.Ĭompliance tumbled to an 18-month low last month, despite cases remaining high.09.24 BST What happened today, Thursday 27 May It's been mandatory on public transport since July 2020. Throughout most of the pandemic, health authorities have consistently encouraged the use of masks as a simple, low-cost measure to drive down transmission and help the community survive the pandemic. Masks remain effective barriers, but use is slipping "That's why going through that plan, with your GP or specialist is really, really important in advance," she said. She said some of the drugs interacted with other medications, meaning a careful assessment was needed to determine which drug would be appropriate if a vulnerable person was infected. "But it's within that first five days that you have to take the drug to help make it work." "You might have really mild symptoms and think 'oh, it's not worth going to the doctor'," she said. Professor Lewin said now was the time for vulnerable people to see a doctor and set out a plan so they could access antivirals in time if they became infected. Loading.īut there are two key things to know - the oral antivirals must be taken within a five-day window after the onset of symptoms, and figuring out which drug works for you can take some time. "They're hugely effective at keeping people out of hospital and from tragic loss of life," he said. Professor Cowie said one critical "new tool" available this winter to protect those most at risk from the virus was an array of subsidised antiviral treatments. Vulnerable Victorians urged to plan ahead on COVID-19 antivirals He said unvaccinated Victorians made up around a third of those deaths, despite only making up less than 5 per cent of the total population aged 12 and older.
"It was a lot higher in the pre-vaccine era, but because there is so much more COVID being transmitted in the community, it means the absolute number of people who are losing their lives has increased substantially." Professor Cowie acknowledged many Victorians were distraught by the ongoing tragedy of lives lost to the pandemic.
Sadly, Victoria continues to record a significant number of deaths. "I think part of the reason why it might have paused a little bit is there's now a recommendation that people wait three months after they've had a COVID-19 infection before they get their next dose of vaccine," he said. Professor Cowie agreed, but also believed there could be another explanation for part of the delay. It's a figure that's not budged much in the past couple of months, something Professor Lewin said needed to change. Vaccination will help reduce the risk of severe illness, but attempts to protect all Victorians with three doses of a vaccine appear to be stalling, with around 68 per cent of those aged over 16 covered. A high caseload is claiming more Victorian lives "There is a lot of COVID around and even if Omicron is milder in a vaccinated population, which it is, a very large number of cases still means we are at risk of increasing stress on our hospital system," Professor Lewin said. "Our sense is that things will probably remain at around about this level and potentially… rise a bit through the end of June," he said.Ĭontributing to the anticipated rise is the establishment of the latest Omicron sub-variants, BA.4 and BA.5, in the Victorian community.Įarly evidence suggests they're more able to evade immunity from vaccination and previous COVID-19 infection - but not more likely to cause severe disease.ĭoherty Institute director and infectious diseases expert Sharon Lewin said those variants had only produced a "smaller uptick" during a recent wave in South Africa, but that was no reason to be complacent. But he said there were some promising signs of stability, with hospitalisations falling slightly in the past week.
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