Covid Qld: Summer will help keep children out of hospital
As Queensland enters its fourth Covid wave, there is one factor that may help the Sunshine State avoid the flood of infections and hospitalisations being experienced overseas as the virus ramps up.
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The arrival of summer will likely help Queensland escape the Covid crisis hitting the Northern hemisphere where floods of children are overwhelming hospitals but the low paediatric vaccine uptake in the state is still a big concern, experts warn.
Queensland has the lowest rate of vaccinations in five to 15 year olds in the country, with 52 per cent having received the first dose and only 44 per cent double vaccinated. In the ACT 76 per cent of children are double vaccinated and 82 per cent have had one dose.
The US reports 75 per cent of paediatric hospital beds are full of children battling Covid, influenza and RSV.
“Typically the southern hemisphere can follow the same trend as what happens in the north but we are lucky we are moving into the summer where we see fewer cases of flu and RSV. I have recently returned from the US and they are experiencing a surge in children with respiratory conditions,” infectious disease expert Paul Griffin said.
Queensland is showing a steady decline in RSV cases.
The last week in October recorded 95 cases compared with 119 cases in the week beginning October 10.
“We are unlikely to follow the US in this matter but it is still very worrying that the vaccination rate in children is so low in this state. I would encourage parents to take their kids to the doctor and discuss being jabbed. It is the best protection in this wave,” Dr Grffin said.
“The reality is that it is up to families to keep their children safe. Adults should make sure they resume the usual Covid protection strategies. Masks are a simple and effective way of keeping this wave under control and of course the sanitisation measures we know so well,” he said.
Children aged six months up to five years who suffer from severe immunocompromise, disability and complex health conditions can also be vaccinated.
With cases rising, Dr Griffin said that the impact of the fourth wave is in the hands of Queenslanders.
“We can work together on this,” he said.
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