In England, a 33-34 percent rise in new infections and hospital admissions over the past seven days has seen some health districts reinstating mask mandates in hospitals less than a month after they were dropped. Read more. And in the Americas, the PAHO announced that South America’s cases had risen by nearly 25 percent over the previous week. The higher transmissibility of the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants, plus early evidence of escape immunity from vaccination or previous infection, had them dominate global sequencing – 55 percent overall. Read more. Last week the WHO director-general said that the pandemic was changing and progress has been made, but it wasn’t over: ‘cases are on the rise in 110 countries, causing overall global cases to increase by 20% and deaths have risen in three of the six WHO regions even as the global figure remains relatively stable’. The burden of vaccine inequity remains, with on average just 13 percent of people in low income countries vaccinated.
Related news and articles:
- A meeting of the WHO and International Coalition of Medicines Regulatory Authorities at the end of June discussed the effectiveness of vaccines in the face of new SARS-CoV-2 variants that ‘may emerge rapidly and replace the currently circulating ones after short-lived waves’. Reviews underway include considering vaccines targeting the Omicron strain and other variants. Read more
- Long COVID: female sex, older age and existing health problems increase risk – new research published by GAVI.
- ‘Triple vaccination seems to reduce the chance of long COVID – but we still need to prepare for a jump in cases’: The Conversation
- ‘Australia is heading for its third Omicron wave. Here’s what to expect from BA.4 and BA.5’ authored by Prof. Adrian Esterman, University of South Australia and published in The Conversation on July 5.
Before you travel, call Travelvax Australia’s telephone advisory service on 1300 360 164 (toll-free from landlines) for country-specific advice and information. You can also make an appointment at your nearest Travelvax clinic to obtain vaccinations, medication to prevent or treat illness, and accessories for your journey.