Waleed Aly challenges ‘misjudged’ Covid danger for young people

After the death of a 27-year-old man from Covid-19, Waleed Aly has questioned whether or not we have misjudged the danger in young people.

Waleed Aly has challenged the “misjudged danger” surrounding young people and the virus after a 27-year-old Sydney resident passed away from Covid-19.

Chatting to Dr Norman Swan, host of ABC’s Coronacast, Waleed discussed how after hearing about the death, and other young Covid-related deaths, he couldn’t stop “hearing those comments from Jeanette Young in Queensland”.

On Monday, Young, the state’s chief health officer, stood firm on her view the jab not be taken by those under 60.

She urged Queenslanders to follow advice from the national vaccine regulatory body and said “I still don’t” want 18-year-olds to receive the AstraZeneca jab.

Waleed asked: “Are we misjudging the danger that this presents to young people?”

Waleed says that we have 'misjudged the danger' surrounding young people with Covid-19. Picture: Channel 10

Dr Norman Swan replied: “Yes, we are. This virus is almost certainly more virulent, in other words more likely to cause disease and it is spreading into younger people.

“There are younger people in intensive care and on ventilators in New South Wales.

“Even the previous virus, it wasn’t that benign in younger people. You had lots of younger people dying in America and the UK and so on, this is what happens and you have got to balance it up.

“There is a one in 30,000 risk of a clotting syndrome with AstraZeneca, a one in 50 chance

of ending up in ICU if you got infected.

“Young people need to get vaccinated.”

Dr Norman Swan chatted to The Project. Picture: Channel 10

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It comes after NSW Health confirmed a Liverpool man in his 20s died “suddenly” after contracting Covid-19.

Aude Alaskar collapsed inside the home he shared with his wife in Sydney’s southwest on Tuesday, but was unable to be revived by paramedics.

Speaking to 9News, a relative of Mr Alaska said the man had relatively mild symptoms until lunchtime yesterday, when he started coughing, vomiting and then collapsed.

Another relative of Mr Alaskar’s told The Daily Telegraph that the forklift driver had been in isolation for the past two weeks, having caught the virus from his wife, who works in an aged care facility.

NSW chief health officer Kerry Chant announced the 27-year-old’s death during the state’s coronavirus update on Monday morning.

Liverpool man Aude Alaskar. Picture: Facebook

“He was being cared for by the south western Sydney local health district during his isolation period and he’d reached the day 13,” Dr Chant told reporters.

“He was being followed up daily by nursing staff and suddenly deteriorated.”

Asked by reporters why Mr Alaskar wasn’t in hospital, Dr Chant said his condition deteriorated really quickly.

“He was being checked daily and he did complain of feeling a little fatigued but the deterioration happened suddenly,” she said.

“It is important that we understand that with covid you can get sudden deaths and I think that is important to understand your health status can deteriorate.”

Dr Chant said Mr Alaskar’s wife had now been hospitalised.

“You can imagine the trauma for that other person who has now been hospitalised,” Dr Chant said.

“That person also had Covid and that person has been hospitalised and offered all care.”

233 new covid cases were announced Wednesday morning for the Greater Sydney region.