Vaccines are less effective at reducing the risk of viral mutation than they used to be – but they still make a difference.
Articles on Omicron variant
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After two years of COVID-19, it’s understandable that many people are weary of infection prevention measures. But simply being tired of the pandemic is no reason to let our guard down.
This is a transcript of The Conversation Weekly podcast episode published on February 3 2022.
The arrival of the highly infectious Omicron variant has changed the COVID landscape in Australia. We asked 5 experts whether it’s time to rethink vaccine mandates for dining, fitness and events.
The pathway for foreign doctors to practise in New Zealand is neither easy nor very fair, meaning an over-stretched health system is missing out on valuable expertise.
Plus, is the human emotional response to music innate or is it shaped by a person’s culture? Listen to The Conversation Weekly podcast.
Cases of the Omicron sub-variant BA.2 are now in Australia. While there’s no evidence it causes more severe disease than the original Omicron, early research suggests it’s more transmissible.
New Zealand’s system of managed quarantine at the border may soon be less important, but we could well need to stand it up again quickly if a new COVID-19 variant emerges.
New Zealand has managed to stamp out onward transmission of the Delta variant, which means it’s not dealing with a “double epidemic” and has a better chance to tackle Omicron’s spread.
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Labor has opened a 56-44% two-party lead and Scott Morrison’s net satisfaction rating has plunged 11 points in Newspoll, after a disastrous summer in which Omicron has ripped through most of the country and deaths have spiked.
Studies suggest seniors without the booster shot run a higher risk of infection and hospitalization from the omicron variant.
It doesn’t need to be scary or painful. With the right technique, you’ll be able to perform this test quickly and safely at home.
Just because we’re in a period of social change, doesn’t mean we have to lose momentum on sustainability. There are six things we can do right now to offset our daily waste from disposable masks.
Some of the omicron variant’s unique properties – such as its ability to spread rapidly while causing milder COVID-19 infections – could usher in a new phase of the pandemic.
As many people have died with COVID in Australia – more than 1,000 – as die from a bad year from influenza. Attention on them doesn’t seem to have spiked proportionately.
After Premier Doug Ford announced “positive news,” I think about the widening inequality in our province, who the news is “positive” for and the death of caremongering.
Despite the ongoing pandemic, the agenda for 2022 includes key developments to tackle the connected crises of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution.
Variant-specific vaccines would undoubtedly increase immunity. But waves of new variants would engulf the population faster than these vaccines could ever be deployed.
The 2021 child tax credit expansion helped lift millions of families with children out of hunger. After those payments ended in December 2021, those families may again face food insufficiency.
Top contributors
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Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra
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Professor, Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, The University of Queensland
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Professor of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, University of South Carolina
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Associate Professor of Molecular Medicine, UMass Chan Medical School
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Professor of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, University of South Carolina
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Dean Faculty of Health Sciences and Professor of Vaccinology at University of the Witwatersrand; and Director of the SAMRC Vaccines and Infectious Diseases Analytics Research Unit, University of the Witwatersrand
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Professor, School of Biomedical Sciences and Pharmacy, University of Newcastle
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Canada Research Chair in Aging & Immunity, McMaster University
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Professor and Department Chair of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, University of Pittsburgh
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Adjunct Professor: Department Internal Medicine, University of Pretoria
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Professor of Medicine, University of East Anglia
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Professor, Biology, York University, Canada
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Principal Medical Scientist at National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), National Institute for Communicable Diseases
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Senior Lecturer, Medical Microbiology, University of Westminster
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Research scientist, Manaaki Whenua - Landcare Research