LISA MILLAR:
We're joined now by Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly, good morning to you. Good to have you on the program again, thank you.
PAUL KELLY:
Thanks Lisa.
LISA MILLAR:
Let's talk about the sub variants BA.4, BA.5, how critical a situation are we going into at the moment?
PAUL KELLY:
Well, we've certainly seen a rise in this new variant of Omicron. So this is still the COVID 19 virus, the SARS cov2 viruses just a different, slight differences in the in the way that that virus looks and how our immune system looks at it. So we do know that this new variant has caused waves in other countries and is now becoming the dominant variant here in Australia.
We have no suggestion at the moment that it causes more severe disease, but it does escape our immune system, whether that's due to previous infection or vaccination. The good news is that the vaccination we have available, particularly if you've had a third dose, or for a now expanded group of people a fourth dose, does get protection against severe disease and I would very much encourage anyone watching to check those new availabilities and if you are eligible for a fourth or a third dose, absolutely go and get it. Get that organised this week.
We have seen a reluctance from some people to get that third dose and also with the fourth dose for some people and so now's the time to reconsider that. We do expect that these new variants will cause a rise in cases and probably hospitalisations in the coming weeks. So it's a very important message.
LISA MILLAR:
Well, we're already talking about some hospitals in some states putting off elective surgery again because of the demand. Do you anticipate that happening?
PAUL KELLY:
Yes, and that's something that happens every winter with influenza and we have seen influenza again this winter as predicted, and for the first time in three years, and so there has been quite a lot of influenza out. There's also other cold and flu viruses that are cold viruses, particularly RSV. Which affects children in particular, has been circulated this year for the first time in a couple of years. And so all of that together has caused issues in our hospitals and so that's a pretty standard thing to be done at this time of year during the winter season. And with this increase now in the new variant of COVID that's that's exacerbated that problem.
LISA MILLAR:
What difference does it make when the states make that decision to follow what the health officials have said and reduce that infection time from 12 weeks? Or the reinfection period immunity period from 12 weeks to four because there are so many people I've had say to me and I've said it myself, you know I only had COVID a couple of months ago I'm okay.
PAUL KELLY:
It’s based as always, on the Australia health prediction principle committee's deliberations and that group based very much on the evidence and so it's yet another curveball that's been given to us by this virus. The new BA.4, BA.5 variants are more infectious. There's now strong evidence that you can get reinfected earlier than what we had previously seemed to be the case. So it's important that anyone who develops symptoms again 28 or more days after they've had a previous COVID 19 infection to get tested and to take the appropriate arrangements in terms of isolation. And most importantly, and this is a really key point, if you are in that situation, you might be eligible now for the treatments, the oral treatments, so have that discussion now with your GP have that this week, if you are over 70, if you're over 50 with two risk factors and there's a whole list of those on our website can get that information from your GP because you may be eligible for those new treatments which will definitely decrease your risk of severe disease and even death and so that's a really important message to viewers today.
LISA MILLAR:
Viewer's are seeing death rates still at high levels, hospitalisations. We've got a severe outbreak on board another cruise ship that's heading between Brisbane and Sydney. And yet the health officials are reluctant to be saying you know, we need to bring back mandates on masks, we need to add some urgency to this I guess there seems to be a disconnect between the messaging that we're getting and the lived experience by people.
PAUL KELLY:
I would dispute that we're not giving strong advice and that urgency is not there. We've certainly over the last week, as you mentioned at the start of this, the AHPPC did give strong advice about what can and should be done. We've had that increase in eligibility for fourth dose vaccines and a really strong increase in the messaging about third vaccine and third dose of the vaccine. We've had that increase in the eligibility criteria for oral treatment. So all of those things and strong messaging about the using of masks again in indoor settings that has come through in terms of mandates and so forth, that's really a matter for governments to consider and take that advice, but that's something that we're not advising ourselves at the moment that's for governments to consider.
LISA MILLAR:
All right, Paul Kelly, thank you very much for coming on the program this morning.
PAUL KELLY:
You’re welcome.
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