Omicron booster study results; 25k cases amd 57 deaths in NSW, Vic and Qld

A new study has revealed surprising results on the Omicron booster, as NSW, Qld and Victoria record 25,000 new cases and 57 deaths.

New Omicron specific booster vaccines under development may not be necessary, with early research showing they perform no better than boosters of the original vaccines.

Small studies in monkeys and mice showed monkeys given either vaccines as a booster produced antibodies to all Covid-19 variants of concern, science journal Nature reports.

“Either boost completely shut down viral replication within two days,” Robert Seder, a co-author of the paper and an immunologist at the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases told Nature.

The Omicron-specific vaccine showed no significant advantage over the original, he said.

Other studies in mice also found giving an Omicron-matched booster after two doses of the regular mRNA-based vaccine produced no more benefit than a standard booster.

And, more concerningly, it appears animals only given the Omicron specific vaccine had difficulty fighting off other Covid-19 variants of concern.

Mice who were never given the original Covid-19 vaccines, but who were dosed with an Omicron specific vaccine, produced antibodies to Omicron but these antibodies weren’t as effective against other Covid-19 variants.

All the studies are preprints and have yet to be peer reviewed.

Omicron differs substantially from the original Wuhan, Alpha and Delta strains of Covid-19 and has a heavily mutated spike protein.

Pfizer and Moderna announced in late January they were conducting clinical trials of Omicron-specific jabs.

QUEENSLAND RECORDS 12 MORE DEATHS

Queensland has recorded 6596 new cases of Covid, with 12 more deaths related to the virus overnight.

Health minister Yvette D’Ath said due to a delay, authorities are still awaiting the vaccination status of the victims.

Chief health officer Dr John Gerrard said there were now fewer than 404 Covid patients being treated in hospital.

There are currently 36 people in ICU and 20 on ventilators.

There were 3394 rapid antigen tests taken in the past 24 hours – 1904 were from schoolchildren.

Queensland’s daily case numbers have eased from a peak of 23,600 on January 14 to just 5286 new infections on Tuesday. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dan Peled

The passing of the Omicron peak means a suite of Covid mandates are currently under review in Queensland, including indoor mask wearing and restrictions on unvaccinated patrons.

A steady drop in case numbers and hospitalisations has already seen the Sunshine State abandon Covid check-ins for most venues – including supermarkets, gyms, salons and indoor sporting arenas – with chief health officer Dr John Gerrard now confirming a number of other restrictions were now being looked at.

“All of them are currently under review given that this Omicron wave is coming to an end,” he said on Tuesday.

“If some of these restrictions were to be withdrawn … such as masks then that would be purely on the understanding that if there was a resurgence of infection then masks will be reintroduced, say if that would happen in the winter.

“We’ll still see cases, the virus isn’t going to go away – we’re still going to see transmission of the virus heading into winter.”

There are still more than 500,000 active cases in the state but hospitalisations, ICU admissions, and the number ventilated patients are trending downwards.

The number of double-dosed Queenslanders aged 16 and over has been hovering just below 90 per cent for a week, while 1.8 million people have had their booster shot.

NSW recorded 10,463 new cases of Covid-19 and 27 deaths on Wednesday as the state inches closer to relaxing restrictions.

The update from NSW Health is a spike in infections after the state recorded 8201 cases on Tuesday and 6184 on Monday.

However, hospitalisations are continuing to fall with 1478 patients now in hospital, with 92 in ICU.

On Tuesday there were 1583 people in hospital, 96 of which were in ICU.

Of Wednesday’s 10,463 tests, 6395 were from rapid antigen tests and 4068 were the result of PCR.

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet has defended his approach to the pandemic. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Flavio Brancaleone

Across the state, 94.2 per cent of people aged over 16 have had two doses of the Covid-19 vaccine, and 49.1 per cent are triple vaccinated.

Meanwhile, 83.5 per cent of children aged 12 to 15 have had one dose of a vaccine and 78.9 per cent are fully vaccinated.

Of children aged five to 11, 45.8 per cent have received a Covid-19 jab.

The current Covid-19 restrictions across the state are set to end on February 28, including mandatory QR check-in requirements for pubs, clubs and bars.

The rules also include indoor mask mandates, density limits and a ban on singing and dancing.

Check-in rules at venues such as supermarkets, offices and retail shops are also due to expire come February 28.

VIC: 8,149 CASES, 18 DEATHS; ELECTIVE SURGERY RESUMES

Victoria has recorded 8149 new Covid cases and 18 deaths on Wednesday.

There are 397 people in hospital in Victoria with 68 in intensive care and 13 on ventilators.

On Wednesday morning the state government announced that all elective surgery across Victorian public and private hospitals can resume by the end of the month.

With the Omicron wave continuing to stabilise, Health Minister Martin Foley on Wednesday morning confirmed he had signed off on a plan that “balances the health system response and workforce pressures with ensuring Victorians can access important surgery”.

The rolling seven-day average of Covid-19 related hospitalisations is 457 patients, decreasing from a peak of more than 1200 patients in mid-January.

The number of staff unavailable due to Covid-19 has also dropped by about two-thirds, now about 1400 people.

From next Monday public hospitals in metropolitan Melbourne will be able to perform Category 2 surgery.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews speaks at a press conference at Treasury Place in Melbourne. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Andrew Henshaw

Mr Foley will also consider further changes to allow all surgery to resume from February 28, subject to supporting streaming sites, with a focus on treating Category 1 and 2 patients within clinically recommended times.

Mr Foley said each hospital will individually assess their own capacity based on staff needs and Covid demand.

Private hospitals can also increase their elective surgery activity, as long as they can still provide support for public hospitals with Covid cases.

From next Monday, metropolitan private facilities will be able to undertake up to 75 per cent of any elective surgery activity — an increase from 50 per cent.

The cap for private hospitals in regional Victoria will increase — from 75 per cent now — to 100 per cent by Monday February 21.

Victoria declared a code brown in hospitals in mid-January. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Andrew Henshaw

Mr Foley said the hospital system was now in a “strong position” to remove remaining restrictions.

“We understand that this has been a difficult time for many people waiting for surgery and we thank them for their patience while we managed the peak of the Omicron variant,” he said.

Opposition health spokeswoman Georgie Crozier said the announcement proved to be “more spin over action from the Andrews Labor government”.

“Elective surgery should never have been cancelled. It should be restarted today, in full, not potentially by the end of the month,” Ms Crozier said.

“This government has no plan to cut record waiting lists or fix the healthcare crisis it has created.”

THE WORKERS FACING THIRD-JAB MANDATE

Residential aged care workers are likely to soon need a third “booster” shot in order to be considered fully vaccinated against Covid-19 – and go to work.

The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) now says only those who have had three doses of Covid-19 vaccine are considered to be “up-to-date”.

Based on that call, the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC) said on Tuesday that for aged care staff to be fully vaccinated they needed three shots of vaccine.

The AHPCC is the peak organisation in Australia for disease control and public health emergency management, and comprises of state chief health officers.

It is recommending state and territory leaders require staff members receive a booster dose as a condition of working in a residential aged care facility.

“It is important that our most vulnerable people in residential aged care, are protected from the devastating effects of COVID-19,” it said in a statement.

“An important part of that protection is a requirement for residential aged care staff to be fully and recently vaccinated.

“In view of the changed ATAGI advice, this should now include three rather than two vaccine doses.”

Booster doses of vaccine are recommended for all Australians at least three months after receiving the second dose.

According to the AHPCC, boosters have a “moderate impact” on reducing risk of developing infection from COVID-19.

“Ensuring workers have received three doses of vaccine has a direct impact on reducing transmission to residents of aged care facility by preventing infection in workers,” it said.

DOUBLE-FIGURE DEATHS FOR QUEENSLAND

Queensland has recorded 5286 new cases and 10 Covid deaths in the past 24 hours.

There are now 491 infected people in the state’s hospitals, with 35 in intensive care.

More than 90 per cent of eligible Queenslanders are fully vaccinated and the state has 33,166 active cases.

A total of 6522 PCR tests were taken across the state on Monday.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has given a Covid update with her state recording 5286 new cases on Tuesday. Picture: NewsWire / Sarah Marshall

Chief Health Officer John Gerrard confirmed none of the recent deaths were in aged care.

Three of the fatalities were in people in their 60s, three in their 70s, one in their 80s and three aged in their 90s.

Sixteen infected people across the state were on ventilators.

It comes after Dr Gerrard said Covid hospitalisations had halved in recent weeks.

“Just 19 days ago, we were at our peak of 928 patients, so in 19 days we have halved the number of people that are in our hospitals,” he said.

“Things are going far better than we had ever projected in terms of the Covid wave, this Omicron wave, so it'll be interesting to see what happens in the coming weeks.”

BRITTANY HIGGINS REVEALS FAMILY COVID DEATH

Brittany Higgins has revealed she has lost a family member to Covid.

The former Liberal staffer and alleged sexual assault survivor took to social media on Sunday to reveal her “great grandpa” had succumb to the illness this week.

“This week we lost my wonderful, wacky great grandpa Jim to Covid-19.

“He was larger than life, a lover of land rovers and for reasons unknown he insisted on calling all of us Fred.

“We will all love and miss you always”.

Brittany’s heartfelt tribute on Instagram.

PERTH AGED CARE DEATHS SURGE

A coronavirus outbreak at an aged care home in Perth has swelled to 17 cases while contact tracers scramble to find the source of new mystery cases, some of whom were infectious in the community.

Of the 68 new cases confirmed on Sunday, 38 were acquired locally, with 27 linked to close contacts of confirmed cases.

Five cases are being followed up by contact tracers, Premier Mark McGowan told reporters, and some of the new local cases were infectious in the community.

The outbreak at Juniper’s Cygnet Residential Aged Care home in Bentley – the first at such a facility in Western Australia – has risen to 17.

It began with two cases confirmed on Wednesday.

Amid rumours that cases had been detected at second aged care home run by Brightwater, Mr McGowan said he had not been advised about that but “it might be in today’s numbers or coming through”.

West Australians have been urged to get tested for Covid.

Brightwater is being sought for comment.

The Labor leader once again urged West Australians to get tested, warning “the chances are that there are cases out there we don’t know about, probably in large numbers”.

Just 4395 people had a PCR test at private and public clinics on Saturday.

“They are doing about 15 per cent, 20 per cent of their full capacity so please go and get tested,” Mr McGowan said.

“While the PCR test number may seem relatively low, it is important to remember PCR tests are not the only diagnostic tool that can be used in Western Australia at this point in time.”

Rapid antigen tests only became legal in WA about a month ago.

“Currently the state government has 8.8 million RAT tests in stock and that number is growing each and every day,” Mr McGowan said.

“This coming week, our stocks are expected to hit 11.2 million rapid antigen tests. Based on our current orders we anticipate having more than 100 million RAT tests by the end of April.

“We are currently distributing RAT tests to all public Covid testing clinics, to manage demand and wait times and also to support the testing regime for interstate and international arrivals.”

He said PCR tests were preferred while there was still capacity at testing clinics.

While aged care homes were a commonwealth responsibility, the WA government would assist them with personal protective equipment and RATs, Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson said.

“The commonwealth has had issues getting their PPE and RATs across the border, and those aged care homes have not had access to the commonwealth supply,” she said.

“I’ve met with all of the major providers … my message to them and to the department is if you require access to the state supply, we will give you access and we will work it out with the commonwealth afterwards.

“We will not be quibbling on the ground.”

Mr McGowan is yet to advise when WA may fully open up its borders, having abandoned a planned date of February 5 as the Omicron variant was tearing through the rest of the nation.

Originally published as Omicron booster study results; 25k cases amd 57 deaths in NSW, Vic and Qld