<
https://theconversation.com/respiratory-infections-like-whooping-cough-and-flu-have-plummeted-amid-covid-but-bounce-back-is-a-worry-176692>
"Public health measures to control COVID, including social distancing, masks,
border closures and reduced international travel, have worked to reduce the
impact of COVID.
But they’ve also led to a reduction, or changed the pattern, of other
respiratory infections such as influenza, whooping cough and respiratory
syncytial virus (RSV).
A Productivity Commission report released last month showed whooping cough
rates in 2020–21 were the lowest they’d been in years.
Australia also didn’t experience much of a flu season in 2020 or 2021. This is
good news as we didn’t want to have both flu and COVID circulating in high
numbers.
One concern, though, is these low rates may have lulled us into complacency. It
might mean many people haven’t been in any rush to get their flu vaccine.
What’s more, because very few of us have had these infections over the past two
years, we have probably experienced less of a boost in any “natural” immunity.
We need to be wary of these infections bouncing back, especially as we head
into winter and our borders open to international travellers.
The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) last week
released advice urging all Australians to get a flu vaccine once available,
which is likely to be in March."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
