Vaccines and antivirals not enough to combat Australian Omicron surge, experts warn

The president of the Australian Medical Association, Dr Omar Khorshid, said it was important politicians did not block such measures if that was recommended by their medical experts.

He said the measures could prove necessary, despite the federal health minister, Mark Butler, seemingly ruling them out.

Khorshid made the comments as concern was raised that governments were relying too heavily on pharmaceutical measures, such as antivirals and vaccines, to get Australia through the latest surge of Covid-19 cases being driven by the Omicron variant. The pressure on hospitals has already led to some elective surgeries being cancelled in Queensland, and paramedics in some states have become overwhelmed.

From Monday, anyone aged 30 and over is eligible to receive their fourth vaccine dose. Meanwhile, the government has expanded eligibility for antivirals that prevent those at highest risk of death from developing severe disease.

Khorshid added public health measures combined with pharmaceutical measures would bring cases down further.

Khorshid said the government clearly wanted people to take Covid-19 seriously and to get boosted, yet more could be done to have a measurable impact on infections and deaths.

While short telehealth appointments are still available, among the telehealth-related services now cut are initial and complex specialist items, and GP consultations that last longer than 20 minutes.

The vice-president of the AMA, Dr Chris Moy, who is also a GP, said vulnerable Covid patients needing access to life-saving antivirals also needed extended telehealth consults. He said this was because the antivirals could interact with other medications, making prescribing the medicines complex.