Hospital admissions in Victoria have soared, with health experts saying state and federal authorities need new COVID strategies.
According to the Australian Medical Association (AMA), in the past three weeks COVID admissions in Victorian hospitals have risen by almost 80 per cent.
The AMA says the next two months will be a high-risk period for catching COVID, according to the NEMBC Multilingual News bulletin.
Infectious disease expert Brendan Crabb has criticised health authorities, saying that removing all restrictions and relying on vaccinations to protect the vulnerable was the wrong decision.
Clinical scientist Bruce Thompson echoed the same idea, saying the rise in hospitalisations occurred at the same time office and mask mandates were wound back across the state.
Immune period for COVID positive cases could be reduced
The Australian Health Protection Principal Committee say that the official immunity period for COVID-19 should be reduced.
According to the Committee, reinfection can occur as soon as 28 days after recovery.
They recommended the immunity period go from 12 weeks down to four weeks.
New South Wales Health have already made revisions based on this advice.
South Australia will also be counting reinfections in those testing positive to COVID-19 after 28 days, said SA Chief Public Health Officer Nicole Spurrier.
Across Victoria almost 68 percent of people aged 12 years and older are now up to date with three COVID-19 vaccination doses, while over 94 percent have received two doses.
In addition, over 56 percent of children aged five to 11 years in the state have now received at least one dose of a COVID vaccine.
Victoria has recorded over eleven thousand (11,176) new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 with 20 lives lost
COVID-19 cruise ship Coral Princess docks in NSW
The Coral Princess cruise ship, consisting of 118 positive COVID-19 cases, has arrived in NSW from Queensland.
114 of those cases are crew members while four of those cases are passengers.
The COVID-19 protocols on cruise ships are very adequate, said Queensland Chief Health Officer John Gerrard.
No crew members will disembark and all passengers must return a negative Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) before disembarking.
Health Message
Children aged 12 to 15 years, who are severely immunocompromised and children with a disability, are now eligible for a COVID-19 booster vaccine.
The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation has recommended extending eligibility for the Pfizer booster to about 120,00 children.
Those eligible must have received their second dose at least three months ago, be severely immunocompromised, have a disability, or complex health conditions which increase the risk of severe COVID-19.
Children who are NOT considered at-risk, who have received two vaccine doses are still considered to be well protected against severe disease.
(NEMBC Multilingual News)
The Indian Sun acknowledges the support of the Victorian Government.
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Hospital admissions in Victoria have soared, with health experts saying state & federal authorities need new #COVID strategies. Acc to the AMA, in the past 3 weeks COVID admissions in Victorian hospitals have risen by almost 80%. #TheIndianSunhttps://t.co/yeMfaIJuGW
— The Indian Sun (@The_Indian_Sun) July 13, 2022
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