Millions of Victorians now due for Covid vaccination boosters

Less than 20 per cent of Victorians aged over 18 have had a 2023 Covid booster vaccination, meaning millions are now eligible. It comes as deaths across the state rise again.

There have been 58 Covid deaths in Victoria over the last seven days, 23 more than the previous week — dulling hopes the state may be over the worst of its latest deadly wave.

The Victorian Department of Health also reported on Friday 207 people had been hospitalised with Covid during the week, and 10 were in intensive care.

A total of 2,560 new cases had been reported, down on last week’s 3425.

Hospitalisation rates have also shown some improvement.

But booster rates, however, are low, with the Department of Health reminding Victorians vaccinations remain “the best protection against becoming severely unwell or dying from Covid”.

Just 19 per cent of Victorians aged 18 and over had recorded a vaccination or Covid diagnosis in the past six months, meaning 4.2 million Victorians were now eligible for a 2023 booster dose, the department said.

While Covid hospital admissions had shown a steady decrease this week, with the level of Covid wastewater detections also continuing a downwards trend, transmissions continued to be driven by multiple Omicron recombinant XBB sublineages.

These included XBB.1.16 (31 per cent), XBB.1.5 (11 per cent), XBB.1.9 (12 per cent), and other mixed XBB sublineages (22 per cent).

Other variants included the Delta/Omicron recombinant XBC (11 per cent), CH.1.1 (seven per cent), and other strains at low levels.

It comes as fears grow a new Covid strain called FU.1 — detected in Asia and India — may pose the next big coronavirus threat to Victoria.

Experts are warning the mutant Omicron recombinant is now spreading worldwide at a 50 per cent faster rate than Arcturus (XBB.1.16).

FU.1 (also known as XBB.1.16.1.1) is spreading primarily in Shanghai, China, but has also been found in Thailand and India, among other countries.

“New Covid strain (XBB1.16.1.1 is its former name) has now been christened FU.1 and not as a joke. It’s 50 per cent more infectious than the current dominant strains and is just starting to spread worldwide. Expect another serious wave any time soon - don’t know how bad FU.1 is yet,” one Australian surgeon and public health educator said.