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Experts are renewing calls for people to get their COVID-19 booster vaccination following rising infections and hospitalisations.
Chief medical officer Professor Paul Kelly says there are continuing reinfections from the Omicron variant.
Chief medical officer Paul Kelly says there has not been a large increase in severe cases of the disease.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
“We are seeing reinfection, we know that Omicron, having had a previous dose of one of the other variants of COVID-19, did escape that immune protection from both a previous dose and from only two doses of vaccine,” Kelly told Sky News.
“Sub-variants of Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 have now become the dominant strain in the UK (and are) growing particularly on the east coast of Australia.”
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But while the variants are more transmissible, there has not been any uptick in the severity of the disease.
“We will see reinfections over the coming weeks and months, unfortunately with that one, but what we’re not seeing is a large increase in severe disease,” Kelly said.
“That’s really due to the vaccine protection which can be boosted with a third and fourth dose.”
Epidemiologists are also warning of a rise in reinfection and people developing severe bouts of the disease.
Professor Catherine Bennett, chair of epidemiology at Deakin University, warns of growing risks.Credit:Jason South
Deakin University epidemiology chairwoman Catherine Bennett said the broader community would be at greater risk of infection in weeks to come.
“We are seeing what we feared might happen, particularly the convergence of a troubling flu season after having had a couple of years of respite,” she told Sky News.
AAP
