New Covid test that can detect virus before aged care staff become infectious

An expert has called for Victorians to get jabbed amid the latest Covid wave — while highlighting the state government no longer had “a clear picture of the extent of transmission”.

An expert has called for Victorians to get jabbed amid the latest Covid wave — while highlighting the state government no longer had “a clear picture of the extent of transmission”.

The Victorian government barred people from reporting their positive RAT results many months ago. It means it no longer knows the number of Covid cases in the state, and where the worst outbreaks are occurring.

Head of Monash University’s epidemiological modelling unit in the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Associate Professor James Trauer said up-to-date vaccinations were the state’s most important defence against Covid as a “significant wave of transmission” swept the state.

“Testing has declined markedly and the daily number of cases doesn’t provide a clear picture of the extent of transmission any more,” Assoc Prof Trauer said.

“However, other data sources still give us a good sense. For example, wastewater surveillance and hospital admissions show a marked increase in infections over the last few months.”

He added vaccination and past infection immunity meant the severity of illness people were suffering had generally decreased, with fewer needing to be admitted to intensive care.

“When immunity after infection is short-lived, endemic transmission occurs in peaks and troughs as immunity from previous waves fades. This is an expected feature of endemic Covid,” Assoc Prof Trauer said.

“The emergence of new variants is also contributing to these ebbs and flows. Although a few current variants are being closely watched, none of the currently circulating strains seem to cause more severe disease than the preceding strains. Because new variants are contributing significantly to each wave of infection, it is more difficult than ever before to predict when they will peak.”

He also called for people — “in addition to vaccination” — to take precautions when visiting people at high risk of severe illness, such as those in nursing homes.

“This includes testing in advance and wearing face masks during such interactions. However, these interventions will have a minimal effect on the trajectory of the current wave. Persons at risk of severe disease should also consider testing to ensure that antiviral medications can be provided as soon as possible after symptoms of Covid occur,” Assoc Prof Trauer said.

New fast Covid test claimed to work better than RATs

A new Covid test trialled in Melbourne that is understood to be as accurate as PCR testing but with results almost as fast as a RAT could help prevent deadly Victorian nursing home outbreaks, it’s claimed.

The saliva-based Sentinel Biosecurity Platform was trialled at two St Vincent’s aged care facilities in Melbourne late last year, with claims it successfully stopped Covid outbreaks during the pilot period.

It’s claimed the testing technology is also capable of detecting other illnesses such as influenza A and B, dengue, hepatitis B and malaria.

The nursing homes trial of the oral swab — by 3DMEDiTech in partnership with Avicena — “effectively kept Covid out”, a spokesman said.

“The idea is to test all aged care staff at start of shift then advise them during the shift if they are positive. Being a saliva based test it picks up Covid before you become infectious”, he said.

A trial of a new technology that's possibly better than RATs could potentially save many nursing home residents from Covid. Picture: Supplied

The St Vincent’s Care pilot of the Sentinel Testing Program ran for nine days and involved 800 staff.

In that time the testing technology identified four cases of Covid in staff who had a prior negative RAT result before starting their shifts, spokesman Peter Harris said

There were no new Covid outbreaks during pilot program but outbreaks resumed at both testing sites shortly after the trial ended, Mr Harris said.

The Avicena system had also been successfully used at FIFO sites in WA, he said.

Avicena’s Lamp technology was capable of processing over 100,000 samples per day, Mr Harris said.

It comes after the Herald Sun revealed on Friday that Victoria had the highest number of Covid outbreaks in nursing homes of any state — but mask rules were ad hoc across most, and many did not enforce any.

The latest Australian Department of Health Covid data, updated on November 16, shows there are currently a horror 643 Covid cases among Victorian nursing home residents, 204 cases in staff and Covid outbreaks in 106 facilities.

St Vincent’s Care has been contacted for comment.

Victorians doctor shopping for Covid jabs

Vulnerable Victorians have reported struggling to get Covid booster shots and trying desperately for weeks at different bulk billing clinics and pharmacies to get jabbed.

It comes as the federal government announces the latest Covid boosters — targeting the most common variants — are set to be made available throughout the country from mid December.

But Greenvale man Murray Mansfield, 82, who has chronic lung disease, told the Herald Sun he had little confidence the jabs would be available when promised, and that there would be enough to go around.

He said he had been so desperate to get his sixth booster he had considered flying to America just to be jabbed.

“The only thing that stopped me was I thought I could get Covid on the plane,” he said.

Mr Mansfield said he tried multiple doctors and chemists between August and November this year, before finally being able to have his sixth booster.

Older, vulnerable Victorians are reporting having great trouble getting Covid booster jabs. Picture: AFP

Mr Murray said he was shocked when many told him not to worry “because Covid isn’t really a problem anymore”, he said.

When he did finally manage to find a pharmacy offering the booster, it was a Priceline in another suburb, he said.

Mr Murray said that as an emphysema sufferer who battled to breathe, remaining protected against Covid with the most current vaccines was a matter of life or death.

“And it’s not just me that’s had trouble getting them (booster jabs) it’s my mates too,” he said.

The Herald Sun has contacted the Australian Medical Association, Royal Australian College of GPs (RACGP) for comment.

A spokesperson for the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia said the PSA was not aware of significant problems in accessing Covid vaccines in Victoria.

“Community pharmacies continue to be an accessible provider for Covid vaccination. There are currently over 500 community pharmacies offering Covid booster doses across Victoria,” she said.

Health Minister Mark Butler on Monday said the Australian Government had accepted the latest advice from the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) on the use of new Covid XBB 1.5 vaccine as part of the National COVID-19 Vaccine Program.

The new XBB 1.5 vaccines had been found to provide modest improved protection against the Covid strains currently circulating in the community and the XBB 1.5 vaccines would be available along with the existing bivalent vaccines, he said.

Pfizer’s monovalent XBB. 1.5 vaccine would be available for use in eligible people aged five years and over, while the Moderna monovalent XBB. 1.5 vaccine would be on offer to Australians over 12.

Providers could order the new vaccine, with doses being delivered ready to administer from December 11, Mr Butler said.

Sites that received their orders earlier than that date could start administering them as soon as they arrived, he said

New vaccine boosters are promised from next month. Picture: AFP

“These new vaccines will help protect Australians against current strains of Covid-19 and demonstrate the government’s ongoing commitment to provide access to the latest and most effective vaccines,” Mr Butler said.

“Vaccination reduces the risk of serious illness and death from Covid-19, particularly for older adults and those who are immunocompromised. While we are no longer in the emergency phase of this pandemic, Covid-19 is still present, and people should continue to follow the advice of the experts from ATAGI, including getting vaccines as required.”

Pfizer late last month reported a net loss of $2.38bn for the third quarter of 2023. Picture: AFP

It comes after Pfizer late last month reported a net loss of $2.38bn for the third quarter of 2023, compared to a net income of $8.61bn during the same period last year.

For the quarter ending October 1, 2023, the company reported a decline of 42 per cent to $13.23bn — from $22.63bn in the same quarter of the previous year.

Pfizer attributed the dive to a drop in global revenue by the Covid-19 products, Paxlovid and Comirnaty — which experienced 97 and 70 per cent drops respectively, compared to the same quarter in 2022.

Excluding Comirnaty and Paxlovid, Pfizer’s revenues rose by 10 per cent, or $1.1bn on an operational basis.

Originally published as New Covid test that can detect virus before aged care staff become infectious