Three quarters of aged care COVID deaths occurred this year

Three quarters of all COVID related deaths in aged care have occurred this year alone, according to new data.

The analysis of federal health data showed that more than three thousand Australians have died in aged care facilities in 2022, three times the number of deaths during the first two years of the pandemic.

This is largely attributed to the highly infectious level of the Omicron variant, which caused high case numbers across the winter months.

Interim chief of Aged and Community Care Providers Association, Paul Sadler, said that while the increase in deaths was a concern, it was important to note that outbreaks and deaths in aged care had gone down in recent weeks.

Victorian Numbers

Across Victoria over 69 percent of people aged 12 years and older are now up to date with three COVID-19 vaccinations, while almost 95 percent have received two doses.

In addition, almost 57 percent of children aged five to 11 years in the state have now received at least one dose of a COVID vaccine.

Training standards dropped for 000 recruits

Unions say that training standards for triple zero workers have lowered, with fears of potentially fatal consequences.

The state government has funded a large hiring initiative for triple zero call centre workers, following a report into deaths linked to emergency call waiting times and unanswered calls.

However, the Communication Workers Union says that training standards have decreased amid this hiring increase.

Union Secretary, Sue Riley, said that new emergency call staff were not to blame for the lower quality of training, which had the potential to lead to further fatalities if mistakes were made.

Fourth Shot available

All Australians over the age of 30 are now eligible for a fourth dose of a COVID vaccine.
People over the age of 16 who are severely immunocompromised, disabled or at risk of severe COVID symptoms are also eligible for this fourth shot.

To receive it, there must have been at least three months elapsed since having the third dose.
In Victoria the fourth dose is available from most GPs and pharmacies.

To book, use the online booking system or call the Victorian Coronavirus Hotline on 1800 675 398.

(Compiled by NEMBC Multilingual News Service, Victoria)

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