CHO Dr John Gerrard: Take personal responsibility to save lives

About 91 per cent of Queenslanders who have died with Covid-19 were over 65. But Less than 50 per cent of those in this age group have had their second booster and I’m alarmed by that, writes Chief Health Officer Dr John Gerrard.

It has been 2½ years since I treated the state’s first coronavirus case.

In that time, more than 1330 people in Queensland have died with the virus and we’ve recorded more than 1.3 million Covid-19 cases.

We’ve endured two waves and a third is still at least a month away from peaking.

Our hospitals are under immense pressure – the number of Covid-19 patients has risen by 140 per cent just in the past month because of the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants.

Queensland Chief Health Officer Dr John Gerrard. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Tertius Pickard

It’s tragic how something so minuscule (a SARS-CoV-2 virion is roughly half the size of a light dust particle) can wreak so much devastation.

Despite the passage of time and our mighty fight to suppress this disease, Covid-19 is still a major health threat that requires us to remain cautious and sensible.

That said, public health directions and mandates have served their purpose.

They helped us keep cases to a minimum, slowed transmission, and allowed us to vaccinate as much of the population as possible.

There is still a need for some health directions to remain in place, mainly to protect vulnerable people such as the elderly and immunocompromised, but we are no longer dealing with a novel virus.

Now is the time to adjust our measures to reflect this, to responsibly transition away from mandates towards taking personal ­responsibility.

By now Queenslanders are accustomed to the precautions and measures that have protected them against Covid-19. We should all be well-versed in wearing masks when we need to, physically distancing in public, staying away from others when we’re ill, and self-testing.

I have every confidence in the ability of Queenslanders to do this.

Being responsible also means making sure you and your family are vaccinated.

The latest ATAGI advice recommends that people aged 50 and older get the winter booster dose.

Sadly, 97 per cent of Queenslanders who have died with Covid-19 were over 50 years old. About 91 per cent were older than 65.

I can’t stress it enough – stay up-to-date with your Covid-19 vaccinations.

If you’re over 50, that means four doses – the original two doses, plus two boosters.

If you have a parent or relative over 50 who is not up to date, please, help them do so. Less than 50 per cent of Queenslanders aged over 65 have had their second booster and I’m alarmed by that.

It’s heartbreaking hearing reports of ­anyone dying from this disease.

Vaccination might not prevent infection, but it will protect you from serious illness.

Moving away from mandates does not mean reduced healthcare – quite the opposite, it means we can focus more of our ­efforts in delivering essential healthcare.

You can – and should – still wear a mask if you feel you’re at risk of infection.

You should know by now to stay home if you have a cough, a fever, or any other Covid-19 symptom.

That’s what I mean by taking personal responsibility.