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https://theconversation.com/heres-why-you-might-need-a-4th-covid-vaccine-dose-this-winter-177811>
"When I began drafting this article, COVID cases in Australia were coming down
and the situation was stabilising.
New research released in February showed a fourth COVID vaccine dose didn’t add
much extra protection on top of a third dose. It looked as if doling out fourth
doses to all Australians was unnecessary.
Unfortunately, the situation has changed again, and so has the risk
calculation.
New South Wales Health Minister Brad Hazzard said last week Omicron sub-variant
called BA.2 was on the rise in Australia, and NSW should expect the variant to
overtake Omicron and for cases to more than double in the next six weeks.
Experts expect BA.2 to become Australia’s dominant strain in the next few
months.
Early estimates suggest BA.2 is between 25% and 40% more transmissible than
Omicron (BA.1), and is already taking off in countries including Denmark,
Sweden and the United Kingdom.
The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) doesn’t yet
recommend fourth doses for everyone, but they’re already available for severely
immunocompromised Australians.
Coupled with new research detailing the quick waning of our third dose
immunity, it’s likely the coming surge means we’ll need a fourth COVID vaccine
as we hit winter.
Here’s why."
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
