Officials Caution that Rates of Vaccination are Falling and Covid Risk is Rising
Australians are being advised to stay cautious because less people getting vaccinated is a problem now that another easily spreading strain has emerged.
Since January 21, when it was identified, the subvariant NB.1.8.1 has been causing a rise in Covid-19 cases in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. As a result, in Western Australia, this strain is now leading and it has increased case numbers by 24%.
Infectious diseases expert Professor Paul Griffin, working at Mater Hospital in Brisbane, pointed out that vaccination rates for Covid are currently the lowest they have been since vaccines were introduced five years earlier.
Covid-19 vaccinations have fallen behind, Prof Griffin explained. Even so, the virus is still common and puts high-risk people at serious risk.
He urges people in risk groups to get an annual Covid booster, just as some get a flu shot each year. Since winter is just around the corner, the next few days are the best time to get vaccinated—and you can safely get the Covid and flu vaccines together.
One of hundreds of Omicron subvariants, NB.1.8.1 has been linked to a rise in infections and hospitalisations, mainly in Asia and Western Australia.
“Using the latest booster gives excellent defense, is secure and may make your symptoms less severe,” Prof Griffin said.
Fewer than 250,000 people in Queensland have received their free annual booster shot in the past year.
Flu hospitalisations in the state have gone up sharply, with more than 2,000 cases already reported—that’s a 30% increase compared to the same point in 2024. Besides this, rising numbers of Covid and RSV infections are adding extra stress to medical institutions. More than 1,500 people have already been hospitalised for RSV and infants under six months and those over 65 are most affected.
A RSV vaccine for pregnant women helps protect the child for six months after birth.
Eventually, health experts warn, the rate of childhood vaccination, including for Covid, has been decreasing steadily since the pandemic first emerged.
Since 2020, the Grattan Institute’s Professor Peter Beadon noted, the number of fully vaccinated children has declined every year. “In 2024, fewer people were vaccinated for almost all diseases on the National Immunisation Schedule than were vaccinated in 2020.”
Measles cases worldwide increased by 20% this year.
Australia has traditionally managed to eliminate viral diseases, including polio, through vaccination. Now, however, these successes are in danger, Prof Beadon said.