Barwon Health, Deakin study reveals low socioeconomic areas hit hardest in Covid’s second wave

New data from a Barwon Health and Deakin University study has revealed the housing and job status of people most likely to have been infected with Covid.

People struggling with housing and job insecurity were more likely to be infected with Covid during Victoria’s second wave, new data has revealed

A new study, co-authored by Barwon Health and Deakin University experts, concluded Victoria’s second Covid-19 wave was influenced by the socio-economic conditions of the communities it impacted.

Data suggested transmission was higher in postcodes with younger people, large sections of the communities with rented homes, spoke a language other than English at home, or whose mortgage or rent payments exceeded 30 per cent of household incomes.

“Job insecurity and lack of leave entitlements discourage employees from seeking

health care and reporting illness,” it read.

“Access to paid sick leave can reduce transmission during a pandemic by enabling workers to isolate themselves.”

It comes after a study out of the United States suggested housing instability, higher housing density, lack of access to paid leave and inadequate access to healthy food and drinking water hampered efforts to slow Covid-19’s transmission.

Data showed the rate of infection in regional Victoria increased with the rate of larger households, people born overseas and unemployment, but decreased with the proportion of people with private health insurance.

Locally, health teams tackled large outbreaks at a Colac abattoir and a chicken processing plant at Breakwater.

“The workplaces with the highest numbers of SARSCoV-2 infections in Victoria were abattoirs and warehouses, workplaces deemed economically essential, 17 and these workers could probably not readily isolate themselves from others,” the paper read.

“Further, jobs in abattoirs and warehouses are often casual, low wage positions, factors associated with other social risks for poor health.”

Authors said policies and healthcare reform taking inequality into account could “mitigate future waves of COVID-19, help target vaccination programs to people at particular risk” and “better prepare Australia for future pandemics”.

It also found that these issues affected people from culturally and linguistically diverse communities and younger people at a larger rate.

How revolutionary antivirals work to stop Covid

Covid-19 cases in the Barwon South West region are on the rise amid relaxed mask rules and news of a new sub-variant.

The number of infections has increased by 33 per cent over the past week, according to local health data.

Deputy Director of Barwon South West Public Health Unit Professor Dan O’Brien said while cases were up, the rate of hospitalisation had dropped.

“It is possible the new BA. 2 Omicron sub-variant is contributing to the increase in cases,

however there isn’t a large sample of results that are sequenced,” he said.

TWO YEARS ON: HOW COVID HAS CHANGED GEELONG

“The relaxation of mask rules, return of face-to-face tertiary education and the significant number of people eligible for a booster who have not yet received their third dose are likely to contribute to the increase in cases.”

The rise comes weeks after Victoria eased restrictions around masks and a number of huge local events.

It comes as local public health clinicians acquire new treatments for Covid patients to prevent serious illness and hospitalisation.

Infectious disease registrar Dr Arvind Yerramilli from the Barwon South West public health unit is one of the team providing new oral antiviral treatment to eligible patients with Covid-19.

Dr Yerramilli believes antivirals are a game-changer when it comes to keeping Covid positive patients out of hospital.

“While vaccination and particularly booster doses are still the best way to prevent severe Covid-19, oral antiviral treatments can be used as another tool to help particularly vulnerable adults,” he said.

Their are new antiviral drugs available for Covid19 patients in Geelong .Pictured with the drugs ( left) PAXLOVID (both nirmatrelvir and ritonavir tablets) and Lagrevio molnupirivar is Dr. Arvind Yerramilli Picture: Mark Wilson

Paxlovid and Lagevrio are oral antiviral agents that can be taken in tablet or capsule form.

Both medications have recently been provisionally approved for the treatment of Covid-19 by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) and are already being used in other countries around the world including the United Kingdom, United States, Canada and Japan.

“Both Paxlovid and Lagevrio were shown to reduce the risk of hospitalisation and death in two internationally recognised clinical studies,”Dr Yerramilli said.

Lagevrio has an active ingredient that works by preventing the virus from multiplying within the body.

Paxlovid has two components.

Like Lagevrio, the first part works by preventing the virus multiplying, while the second part helps to increase the blood concentration of the first part allowing it to work for longer.

Both Paxlovid and Lagevrio are currently available for Covid-19 positive people at risk of severe disease but who are early in their illness and well enough to be treated in the community to prevent them from needing hospitalisation.

This includes adult patients who are not pregnant, have at least one sign or symptom attributable to COVID-19 and are within five days of symptom onset.

There are a number of criteria which may constitute risk for severe Covid-19 such as being immunocompromised.

Barwon Health chief executive Frances Diver believes keeping Covid-19 patients out of hospital where possible is vital to ensuring the health system can continue to support the

community for non-Covid related illness.

“We are all adapting to living with Covid,” she said.

“It is now part of our ‘business as usual.”

Paxlovid is currently accessed through hospital pharmacies who receive stock via the National Medical Stockpile – referrals can be made through your doctor.

The dose is three tablets twice a day for five days, or two tablets twice a day for five days in those with moderate kidney disease.

Lagevrio is now available in most community pharmacies and can be obtained with a

valid prescription, with dosage of four capsules twice a day for five days.

Originally published as Barwon Health, Deakin study reveals low socioeconomic areas hit hardest in Covid’s second wave