Experts urged to take seriously the new type of coronavirus
Leading medical experts are calling for more public health measures to limit the spread of the new Omicron COVID variant.
Australian epidemiologist Professor Mary-Louise Maclous has spent the last week participating in discussions on the Infection Prevention and Control Panel of the World Health Organization (WHO), The Guardian writes.
“I don’t know of a single outbreak manager who would not support at least wearing masks in cities where COVID-19 cases are on the rise,” says the epidemiologist.
“WHO is constantly reminding the world that vaccines are not the only answer because this virus is constantly changing,” said Professor Maclous. – Vaccines certainly reduce the risk of death and severe infections. But other measures are needed, such as physical distancing and masks. “
Most eminent experts in virology, infectious disease and epidemiology agree that it is clear that additional public health measures are needed beyond vaccines – especially as the Omicron variant of the coronavirus is spreading rapidly.
In a joint commentary, experts from Australia’s leading infectious disease research institutes agreed that while revaccination will be critical, some restrictions are needed. They called for a reintroduction of indoor mask requirements in NSW (Victoria already requires indoor retail masks), as well as re-enactment of restrictions on the number of people for indoor venues at Christmas. They wrote that these measures should remain in place for at least several weeks until more information is gathered about the severity of Omicron and its ability to evade vaccinations.
John Kaldor, professor of epidemiology at the Kirby Institute in NSW, said that throughout the pandemic to date, he has broadly supported public health interventions by the NSW government. health care and clinical resources in the next few weeks, and what seems to be happening. This discrepancy is due to the fact that we have this new option and there are potential knowledge gaps around it. We understand that people want to wait until we have more data on Omicron. But now, while we wait, we can put some obstacles in order not to lose the game. “
Professor Peter Colignon, an infectious disease doctor and microbiologist, believes that it would be more beneficial for the authorities to introduce restrictions on the number of people in certain places, rather than masks. It would be advisable to introduce restrictions in crowded closed spaces.
The head of the Department of Epidemiology at Deakin University, Professor Catherine Bennett, believes that people should wear masks indoors. But she’s less sure if it should be mandatory. “We need people to wear masks, but if compliance is already high and masks are already highly recommended, I’m not sure there is enough evidence that mandatory wearing will matter,” she said.
The President of the Australian Medical Association, Dr. Omar Horshid, tweeted: “Even if Omicron is weak in vaccinated people, the increase in cases will have devastating consequences for public health.”
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