[Jan Fisher]

A new COVID booster specifically for the Omicron variant has been provisionally approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration.

Supplies for the Moderna vaccine have been ordered in advance of the final approval and are expected to arrive in Australia within weeks.

Australia is only the third country to approve the vaccine, joining the UK and Switzerland in adding it to the country’s vaccine policy.

It will be available for people aged 18 years and over.

The Doherty Institute’s Professor Damian Purcell said the booster contained both the original strain and the Omicron variant and will broaden the level of protection for all individuals.

[RnR]

Great news.

Wonder if vulnerable people will be allowed to get it as their 5th shot if we get another Covid wave.

[I’m Myself]

I think I might be waiting until winter next year now.

[KSS]

We need to wait for ATAGI to release the guidelines to see who will be in line for this or any other vaccine. The TGA has given provisional approval for its use in Australia but they do not set the guidelines. Given all other vaccines have included various categories of ‘vulnerable’ people in their roll-out, there is nothing to suggest this vaccine will be any different.

In my view after working with this for the last 21/2 years, we will be encouraged to accept another booster shot. We already know immunity wanes over time (and immunity from having been infected wanes faster than immunity through vaccination) so in all likelihood, a 5th (or for some a 6th) dose seems probable.

And don’t forget, as we move into spring/summer, the northern hemisphere is going into autumn/winter and we also know that COVID infections increase in cold weather. people are travelling now so it is reasonable to expect visitors and returning Australian will bring new variants with them. COVID is not over despite the high levels of complacency on show.

[billy]

When do they estimate that this booster shot will be available for use in NSW?  My other question is “What are the differences in the strains of Covid 19 and Omicron.

 

[KSS]

The COVID virus, like all viruses, has one job – to survive and replicate. To do that it needs a host – people (or other animals like bats, cats dogs etc). When the virus was first identified, there was no experience of it in humans so the virus was able to infect easily. Then, as viruses do, they began to make mistakes in the replication and new variants were born e.g. DELTA. By the time we had DELTA, we also had vaccines and people were being vaccinated against serious illness and death – not against infection. For the virus that made things more difficult. The more people became vaccinated, the fewer hosts were available for DELTA to infect, replicate and spread. The virus is a cunning and slippery customer. In order to preserve itself, it mutated – there were over 50 differences identified between OMICRON and the original DELTA variant – mostly on the spike protein. This meant that OMICRON could break through any immunity for either previous infection or through vaccination. This is what happened at the end of last year and January this year. Then as before, the OMICRON virus continued to mutate and we have two sub-groups B4 + B5 which have caused the problems over the last few months. The 4th dose of vaccine has boosted immunity but not as well as before given it was originally targeting DELTA. That’s why Moderna (and Pfizer not far behind) has developed this new vaccine version targeting OMICRON and the children of OMICRON – B4 and B5. In the not-too-distant future, it is possible that we will need regular booster doses (much like flu) but we need more information about the duration of immunity. Remember it has only been 2/12 years and we are still learning about this particular virus.

The thing is this; whilst in Australia, we have very high vaccination rates, there are many countries that have not even got 10% of their population vaccinated with one dose never mind 4/5. As long as there are sites like that, there will be new variants and there is no telling whether they will be more or less infectious with each variant. OMICRON was 2-3 times more infectious than DELTA for example. 

There have been many more COVID variants than most people know of but many were not a cause for concern. We can and should expect future waves of COVID which is why the current levels of complacency are a problem. COVID is not over no matter how much people may want it to be. 

And a final point: we now know and accept long COVID as a genuine illness. This is where people are still suffering symptoms more than 3 months after their original infection. And we also now know that each time someone becomes infected, (and there are those who have had two or more infections) the long-term damage increases – it is cumulative with each infection no matter how mild the illness may have been. It is estimated between 5-20% of people who have had COVID will have long COVID. Consider this: up to Thursday last week Australia had had 10 MILLION cases, 9.5 of them since January this year. Even if we do the maths on just 5% that is half a million people still sick after COVID infection. And that does not account for what is expected to be a rise in diabetes, CoPD, liver and kidney disease, cognitive decline, heart conditions etc that will also come to light over time. COVID is not just another flu!

[ekbg2002]

From an early 60 y/o with neuro degenerative condition that hasn’t done much or left home much for 12 years (since condition began) living with partner who has had transplant – we are sitting ducks! No masks in planes, few people  wearing them when hubby does a quick shop (10 mins max).

Does anyone care about us? Nah! Or the elderly living at home, or living in aged care facilities? Sitting ducks just waiting. Young people with cancer, medical conditions …. all sitting ducks.

We got COVID. How? Who knows. We don’t go out, only hubby to shop to get just bread, milk, as meals are all delivered to the house. Doctors see us on the computer. Where did we get it? Who knows? It was rotten and still have post covid. 

How many people do a test and don’t tell govt and just continue to go to footy etc.  Worlds gone kooky.

Vent over…Thanks for listening. 

[KSS]

There are estimates that the COVID numbers for new cases are about 50% below the actual numbers. This is down to some people not reporting a positive test result, others not doing the test correctly and getting a false negative result, and still others doing a test too early for the viral load to be adequate to register.

And you are right about people getting a positive test result, not reporting g the result and continuing to go out and about. Complacency and selfishness abound these days.

[Suze]

ekbg2002

Do you always put down the lid on your loo before you flush ??

That is another way that the virus can get into your house – through sewage.

KSS

Thank you for your valuable information that you have put up.

[Author]

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