New BA.4, BA.5 variant warning as fresh Covid wave hits

Have you had Covid recently? There are fresh warnings that you could catch the disease again faster than originally thought. Here’s what you need to know.

Australians are at risk of becoming reinfected with Covid at a faster pace than originally thought fuelled by new sub-variants of the Omicron strain.

Until now, authorities have said people were unlikely to catch Covid twice within a 12-week period.

That advice has been slashed to 28 days, prompting states to update their reinfection periods.

NSW has today followed moves by WA and ACT to reduce its infection period to four weeks, down from 12 weeks, in line with recent advice from the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee.

The committee issued a warning late last week, saying the nation was experiencing a new wave of Covid infections driven by the BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron sub-variants.

BA.4 and BA.5 are becoming the dominant Covid sub-variants in Australia. Picture: Getty Images

“BA.4 and BA.5 are associated with increased immune escape and we are likely to see rates of reinfection rise among those who have previously been infected with an earlier Covid-19 variant,” the AHPPC’s warning read.

AHPPC said reinfections could occur as early as 28 days after recovery from a previous infection, and urged respective jurisdictions to reduce reinfection window down from 12 weeks.

Some people have experienced reinfection in a fortnight, reports The West Australian.

Sub-variants BA.4 and BA.5 are about twice as contagious as Omicron BA.1, preliminary figures from South Africa suggest, reports The Guardian.

The rate at which the new sub-variants reproduce is similar to measles, which has been our most infectious viral disease.

Australians over 30 are now eligible to get a fourth Covid jab. Picture: AFP

Some experts are concerned vaccines and antiviral measures will not be enough to combat this new wave.

Australian Medical Association president Dr Omar Khorshid is urging the country’s leaders not to rule out bringing back public health measures such as mask mandates and social distancing.

There are concerns the Government is putting all its eggs – vaccines and antiviral – in one basket, expecting medications and vaccine boosters to get the nation through this latest surge.

Jonathan Longden, 38, receives his 4th Covid shot in Morayfield, north of Brisbane. Picture: Lachie Millard

Dr Khorshid said a combination of public health and pharmaceutical measures could help to bring down cases, The Guardian reports.

“Mask mandates in some areas and some level of social distancing may well be necessary,” he said.

It comes after Federal Health Minister Mark Butler said the country had “moved beyond those community-wide mandates, whether they’re lockdowns or mask mandates”.

There are more than 311,000 active cases in the country, including 32,164 new cases reported in the past 24 hours, according to the latest figures from the Federal Health Department.

In total, 1.45 million cases have been recorded in the country since the start of the pandemic and 10,325 people have lost their lives to the disease.

HOW YOU CAN PROTECT YOURSELF AGAINST COVID

Health professionals are urging people to get vaccinated and get booster shots as soon as they become eligible.

Australians aged 30 and older are now able to get a fourth dose of a Covid jab and those above 50 are strongly encouraged to do so.

Paul Kelly, the nation’s chief medical officer, told the ABC that BA.4 and BA.5 were becoming the dominant strains in Australia.

“We have no suggestion at the moment that is causes more severe disease but it escapes our immune system, whether that is due to previous infection or vaccination,” he said.

“We do expect that these new variants will cause a rise in cases and probably hospitalisations in the coming weeks.

“The new BA.4 and BA.5 are more infectious and there is strong evidence that you can get reinfected earlier than what was previously the case.

“It is important that anyone who develops symptoms again 28 or more days after they have had a previous Covid-19 infection, to get tested and to take the appropriate arrangements in terms of isolation.”

Originally published as New BA.4, BA.5 variant warning as fresh Covid wave hits