Expert’s warning about ‘really nasty’ Covid variant

Australia has been warned to stay prepared with vaccines for when a “really nasty” Covid variant emerges.

Australia should renew its arrangements with vaccine manufacturers ahead of 2023 due to the threat of evolving Covid variants, an expert has warned.

Professor Jane Halton, chair of international foundation the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, said the federal government needed to be able to react quickly with a ready supply of vaccinations if a “really nasty” variant emerged in the coming months.

“We’re watching what’s going on in the US and we’ve seen yet another variant XBB. 1.5, which reminds us that Covid isn’t yet stable,” Professor Halton told ABC RN Breakfast.

Professor Jane Halton is one of Australia’s foremost experts on pandemic preparation. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

“And that means we continue to need to be ready. We don’t think we’re going to see lots of really nasty variants, but we don’t know, and if we don’t know we have to be ready just in case.

“There’s several things that are recommended to the government that they actually make sure that treatments and vaccines are widely available and they continue to actually publicise the importance of being vaccinated for those people who benefit and making sure people have had those boosters.”

A federal government review led by Professor Halton had made eight recommendations, which would all be implemented next month, to improve Australia’s pandemic preparedness, she said.

Professor Halton said other countries would need to be viewed as competitors in the event vaccine demand soared across the globe once again.

Hundreds of people queued at pop-up vaccination centres across the country in late 2021 and early 2022. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Flavio Brancaleone

“Importantly, that we also make sure we have arrangements with vaccine companies and with the manufacturers of treatments so that in the event we need to scale up quickly, we have those arrangements in place,” Professor Halton said.

“In other words, we’re not running around behind countries who have already sealed deals.

“We had deals obviously that related to the vaccines we needed up until this year, but in common with every country, people are now reconsidering those arrangements, so now is the time to make sure we are doing just those deals.”

The latest weekly Covid figures showed deaths in Victoria and NSW had increased by 39 and 45 respectively, although cases dropped significantly in both states.

Statistics were similar in South Australia, where deaths increased to 20 from 18 in the previous week, but cases fell to 4954 from 7671.