Lockdowns over but masks remain: how living with Covid may be similar to living with the flu

Vaccines could see Covid managed in a similar way to the flu in future, but experts say that while lockdowns will end, some restrictions may stay.

Booster shots, seasonal infections, and reminders to wash our hands: living with Covid will share similarities to living with the flu in future, epidemiologists say, removing the need for widespread lockdowns and controversial restrictions like curfews and playground closures.

But the new-found freedoms will hinge on Australia’s vaccination rate; there could be setbacks as new variants emerge; and masks will make an occasional comeback.

Griffith University professor and epidemiologist Dr Paul Van Buynder said despite a shaky start to Australia’s vaccination rollout, plagued by shortages and miscommunication, “a path out of this” pandemic was emerging.

While some restrictions would still be needed, he said, high levels of vaccination would deliver the freedom to treat Covid-19 in a similar way to influenza.

“It will still keep bubbling along and you’ll have to get a vaccine booster every year,” Dr Van Buynder said.

“I’m confident we will get these boosters and people will be even more highly protected in the first half of next year.”

Medical experts say that Covid-19 outbreaks could be treated in a similar way to flu season after Australia achieves high rates of vaccination. Picture: Mark Wilson

Dr Van Buynder said many Australians were unaware of the flu’s real impact on public health, as many confused it with common colds.

Data shows more than 300,000 cases of influenza were confirmed in Australia in 2019 and more than 900 Australians died from the virus in what experts called “one of the worst flu seasons on record”.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics also recorded 4,124 deaths due to the flu and pneumonia in 2019, making them the ninth leading cause of death that year.

Mater Hospitals infectious diseases director Dr Paul Griffin said while influenza and Covid-19 were “vastly different viruses,” the way to manage their spread in Australia in the months to come would have similarities if Australians achieved a high rate of vaccination.

“(The flu and Covid) will both be something we see going forward and we’ll have to have regular vaccinations and boosters,” Dr Griffin said.

“We’ll also have to be able to manage surges (like flu seasons) and that will include an infection control element as well as managing influxes of patients.”

Dr Griffin said there were still unknown elements about living with Covid-19 in Australia, however, as scientists developed antiviral treatments for the disease and identified the optimal period between immunisation boosters.

Nurse Alison Clancy gives Associate Professor Paul Griffin, an infectious disease expert, the AstraZeneca vaccine. Picture: Annette Dew

But he said there was one big advantage in dealing with Covid compared to the flu: the vaccine against it was more effective.

“The vaccine for Covid performs in a superior way to the flu vaccine and highlights how important it is,” he said.

“The vaccination rate will underpin our efforts to open up and I can’t stress enough how important high rates of vaccination are.”

And while lockdowns may end, Dr Van Buynder said other public health measures would be needed to deal with Covid-19 while its long-term effects became known and research continued on its variants and improved vaccines.

“I do see a role for masks inside for quite some time as part of minimising spread,” he said. “That’s the only way we’ll have a normal life again.”

Australia will continue to see more hospitalisations and deaths from Covid-19, medical experts warn, but they will be at a significantly lower levels among the vaccinated than early in the pandemic.

Originally published as Lockdowns over but masks remain: how living with Covid may be similar to living with the flu