Dr Jeremy Farrar, the highly respected director of the Wellcome Trust described our current global challenge in a media release on Tuesday: “We are clearly in a new and troubling phase of this pandemic. What we have seen so far is sobering but there is still much to learn about Omicron. We cannot afford to cross our fingers and hope this crisis blows over. As we have learned from the very beginning of this pandemic, it’s better to act sooner than later.”
Some states have chosen to rely on vaccination to contain their outbreaks. However, we now know that more than 15 weeks after the second dose of currently available vaccines, there is minimal protection against infection with Omicron. Protection against severe illness may be higher but the evidence is still not clear. A third dose, or booster, is essential.
Most Australians are not yet eligible for a third dose.Credit:Peter Rae
However, most Australians are not yet eligible for a third dose and even among the eligible many have still not received it. For example, around 400,000 eligible Victorians have not yet had the booster.
In addition to vaccination, there are proven preventive measures. Indoor masks have been shown to reduce transmission of the coronavirus between individuals by up to 80 percent. Masks are not disruptive and have no negative impact on the economy. Given the solid evidence that the SARS-CoV-2 virus is mainly airborne spread, there is an urgent need to improve ventilation in all indoor spaces, including schools, churches, offices and hospitality venues.
Vaccine mandates are in place across many countries, including most West European nations. Given that only 75 percent of all Australians are doubly vaccinated, opening up all venues to the unvaccinated makes little economic sense. In fact, in NSW there are signs that it is counter-productive as thousands of people cancel pre-Christmas restaurant bookings.
Sensibly, these people don’t want to take the risk of sitting next to a table of unvaccinated, unmasked customers speaking loudly. The consequences could be infection and isolation during the Christmas period.
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The QR check-in system has been a great success; it’s easy to do and is an invaluable tool in contact tracing. Given the high numbers of new cases, taking away this tool from contact tracers dooms them to a horrible and overworked summer.
We are at a critical point in this pandemic and we need to get in front of the virus, preferably as a unified nation. And we must look beyond our borders. The rich world is nowhere near co-ordinated or committed enough to mount the effective global response that is needed; one that has fairness and equity at its core.
To return to Dr. Farrar’s statement: “It is staggering and deeply frustrating that two years into this pandemic – when we have gathered so much evidence and made huge scientific progress – that governments are still not anticipating events and acting early or working together anywhere near the scale that is required.”
Mike Toole is an epidemiologist at the Burnet Institute. Brendan Crabb is the director of the Burnet Institute.
A national response to COVID-19 is long overdue, but is yet to happen
Source: Philippines Alive
