What's That Rash?

The Victorian Government will today announce details around how it plans to manage COVID-19 cases as it rushes to vaccinate as many people as possible. Yesterday, Premier Daniel Andrews said he'd be meeting with health officials to develop thresholds for the easing of the lockdown, where possible. It's a move away from the COVID-zero goal of the past, as it appears unlikely that the state will man...

It was another record day yesterday for NSW in COVID-19 cases, and the wave is showing no signs of slowing down. And yesterday in even more grim news, the Premier Gladys Berejiklian flagged that October would be the worst month for hospitals and ICU units. That's despite the vaccination rate in NSW charging ahead thanks to a population rushing forward to be vaccinated and additional supply helping...

Case numbers in both Victoria and NSW continue to climb, with both states yesterday posting new daily records for this year. While Victoria's daily cases are far behind NSW, Victoria is on a similar trajectory as NSW was - despite locking down hard and early. So what's going on? Why are cases continuing to rise? Also on today's show: * ATAGI recommends vaccinations for 12-15 year olds * With kids...

Fully vaccinated NSW residents will be given a very small increase in freedoms, after the state reached more than 6 million vaccination doses earlier this week. The state's Premier Gladys Berejiklian yesterday revealed that from mid-September, people who are fully vaccinated will be able to meet more people or spend more time outdoors - depending on where they live. But it wasn't all good news, wi...

You might have heard a friend or family member say 'I'm waiting for Pfizer', on the assumption that the mRNA vaccine works better than others. But according to a recent study from the University of Oxford, immunity from the Pfizer vaccine may actually start to wane faster than AstraZeneca. A month ago, Israel began a program of booster shots, giving older people a third shot of the vaccine to try...

The Doherty Institute Model is the hottest ticket in town, with everyone from politicians to punters talking about what happens when we reach 70 and 80 per cent vaccination levels. But there are a lot of assumptions that have to be made to come up with a model, and Doherty Institute's plan is no different. Among other things, it assumes a certain level of cases, a functioning contact tracing syste...

A glance at the headlines reveals some worrying news: it seems the Delta coronavirus variant is affecting young people and kids far more than previous strains. And it's true, but while more kids are getting Delta, they're not getting more sick. Data from NSW shows that the infection rate is around 10 to 15 times higher, but the rate of hospitalisation is about the same at roughly 2 per cent. So wh...

Australia's vaccine rollout got off to a rough start. It slow to begin and was plagued with problems regarding patchy supply and shifting eligibility. But in the last few weeks, we've really hit our stride with data from the ABC showing that NSW is now vaccinating more people per million each week than the UK and the USA at their peak. So on today's Coronacast, with increased supply of Pfizer and...

If there's one thing that's become a feature of the COVID-19 pandemic, it's that it has seemed to drag on and on. While it seems like a long time ago, it was only early last year when the SARS-CoV-2 virus popped into our lives. But how far left have we got to go? If it was a play, what act are we in? And can we take an interval break? Also on today's show: * Doherty Institute modelling said we can...

As the COVID-19 case numbers in Sydney continue to rise exponentially, regional NSW is also busy battling the spread of the virus. Of the 633 cases yesterday, there were 23 cases from western NSW, 16 from the Hunter region and 4 in far western NSW. The continued spread in regional areas is a massive worry, as regional areas have both vulnerable populations and unique challenges not found in metrop...

As we can see from what's happening around the country, the Delta variant has changed the game when it comes to controlling the spread of coronavirus. It seems unlikely Sydney will ever regain control, and there are major battles in ACT and Melbourne. The Delta variant has surprised virologists with how it popped into existence and how it has so rapidly taken over. But not all is lost. On today's...

The ACT is in a week-long lockdown, joining many other regional NSW local government areas and Melbourne on their journey to stopping Delta. The ACT Chief Health Officer Dr Kerryn Coleman says as yet there's no known link back to known Sydney cases, and genomic information will be available today. And Victoria yesterday recorded two cases in hotel quarantine who had arrived on a plane from Sydney....

It sounds impossible: the complete and utter annihilation of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, worldwide. Almost too silly to even mention. Well, according to a research paper published in the British Medical Journal's Global Health it's something that - while very difficult - may be possible. The article says that COVID-19 eradication might be slightly more feasible than for polio, which was almost eradicate...

If you've been following the daily COVID-19 case numbers in Sydney, you'll know the numbers are steadily increasing. So far, despite a lockdown lasting weeks and weeks, the NSW Government's restrictions have not yet managed to bend the curve. The NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian says the fight against Delta means the old way of doing things needs to be revisited and it needs a different approach. So...

The nation's vaccine goals are all about getting 70 to 80 per cent of people aged 16 or more vaccinated. But that still leaves large numbers of people who aren't vaccinated, and the vast majority of them are kids. So what's the plan for kids when the country starts opening up and what do we know about when vaccines might be trialled and approved for children? Also on today's show: * If two doses o...

It seems short, sharp lockdowns are the new black, and are now being used regularly down the east coast of mainland Australia. Brisbane's short, sharp lockdown lifted yesterday, but Victoria, Cairns and parts of regional NSW have all entered one since last week. So are we going to see large parts of Australia enter and exit lockdown until enough of us are vaccinated? Also on today's show: * Why yo...

As Australia's march towards higher and higher rates of vaccination rolls on, more and more ideas are being thrown around to try and convince eligible people to get the jab. Yesterday, fruit and vegetable processor SPC became the first Australian company to mandate vaccines for all onsite staff and visitors. It raises the question: if SPC can do it, why aren't we seeing similar mandates for health...

With the coronavirus outbreak in NSW not yet showing many signs of getting better, and another outbreak in Queensland growing by the day - it's all a bit depressing But there is good news: the vaccine program is finally speeding up and with every passing day thousands more people are vaccinated against COVID-19. So on today's Coronacast, if very high vaccination rates can continue in NSW, a turn a...

If you thought we’ve suddenly been awash with modelling on the best way forward for Australia's response to coronavirus and how to reach so-called herd immunity you’d be right. But yesterday we got the report we’ve all been waiting for: the assumptions and details behind the Doherty Institute’s modelling. The Doherty Institute is one of the best in the country and it's the organisation that’s been...

As the number of COVID-19 cases in Sydney continues to grow, so do the numbers of people in hospital and intensive care. Currently, there are 232 COVID-19 cases in hospital in NSW. 54 of them are in intensive care and 25 require ventilation. So what's it like inside Sydney's ICU wards? And how does it differ from last year? Also on today's show: * Why are kids under 16 left out of the national roa...

Australia is planning on taking the next big steps in its response to the global coronavirus pandemic. The Federal Government last week released a four-stage plan on how we'll manage virus outbreaks as more and more of us are vaccinated. In it, the first trigger point comes when 70 per cent of the eligible population - that's 16 years or older - are fully vaccinated. On today's Coronacast, why tha...

Do you like the sound of no more lockdowns? What about minimal to no restrictions on day-to-day life? We constantly hear vaccination is our way out of this bloody pandemic, but just how many of us need to get vaccinated before it can end? Well, the experts over at the Grattan Institute have tackled this very problem and say the figure is 80 per cent of Australians. So on today's Coronacast, since...

Sydneysiders face another four weeks in lockdown, as health authorities desperately try to bend the curve of coronavirus infections. While there has been some tightening of restrictions, epidemiologists remain skeptical it'll achieve a decline in caseloads anytime soon. Restrictions are tighter in eight of Sydney's local government areas, which were expanded to include Parramatta, Campbelltown and...

As lockdowns lift in Victoria and South Australia overnight, big problems remain in New South Wales. A week ago, NSW had posted 110 locally acquired cases. Yesterday, it recorded 172 new locally acquired COVID-19 cases, the highest daily number since the outbreak began in June. So on today's Coronacast, as Sydneysiders wait to hear about the future of the lockdown, what might the NSW Government be...

As new coronavirus variants come onto the scene, it forces us to revisit what we know about COVID-19 and how to deal with it. We already know the Delta variant is more infectious, but is it more deadly? Early data from overseas, and from Australia on ICU admissions imply that it is - but knowing for sure may take a bit longer to know. Also on today's show: * Say you got the vaccine and then 30 sec...