Sydney, Jul 7 (BUS): Australia said Thursday it will expand the rollout of its fourth dose of COVID-19 vaccines from next week as it battles a steady increase in hospital admissions fueled by new highly transmissible Omicron variants, BA.4 and BA. .5.
New sub-variants are now the dominant strains of coronavirus in many countries, with epidemiologists warning that they could lead to more hospitalizations and deaths because they spread more quickly than other coronavirus strains, Reuters reported.
New South Wales, Australia’s most populous state, has warned that it is seeing a new wave of infections driven by the BA.4 and BA.5 variants. Meanwhile, Victoria said these breeds have become the dominant breed in the state.
“The epidemic is not over yet, we are entering a third wave that is putting tremendous pressure on our health system and hospital system,” Health Minister Mark Butler said during a media briefing.
About 4,000 people are currently in hospitals in Australia with COVID, the authorities said, the largest number since early February, when Australia endured the previous major Omicron outbreak.
Butler said people over 30 would be eligible for the fourth dose from Monday, after the Australian Advisory Group on Immunization updated its recommendations.
The changes will make over 7 million people eligible for the second booster potion. Vaccination has so far been restricted to people over 65 years of age or seriously ill.
After the virus was largely contained through strict border restrictions and sudden closures earlier in the pandemic, Australia began to live with the virus late last year through an intermittent easing of restrictions following an increase in vaccinations.
A survey by the Australian National University on Thursday showed that young Australians experienced the largest drop in life satisfaction among all citizens during the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Australia on Wednesday scrapped a rule requiring international travelers to declare their COVID vaccination status, marking the end of other major restrictions.
Official data showed that Australia, among the most immunized countries against the emerging coronavirus, has so far given two doses to 95% of people over 16 years old.
This has helped Australia limit its own COVID numbers. The death toll rose to more than 10,000 on Sunday, but the rise was much slower than in many other countries.