A wave of hospitalisations from Covid-19 has public health officials calling on vulnerable groups in Aotearoa New Zealand to ensure their vaccinations are up to date.
Te Whatu Ora Health NZ has seen an increase in admissions of Covid-19 patients since October which is already matching those seen last January.
“But the modelling indicates that this current wave should peak before Christmas and then tail off,” clinical lead of Te Whatu Ora’s Public Health Service Dr William Rainger told 1News.
The health agency is now recommending those at higher risk of infection from Covid-19 get a booster vaccine before the upcoming holidays.
Te Whatu Ora says those at most risk are:
- Māori and Pasifika over 50 years old
- People over 65
- Severely immunocompromised patients over 12 years old
- Pregnant people who have not previously had a Covid-19 vaccine, have co-morbidities, or have no Covid-19 infection history
- People who were due to get a booster in April 2023 and have not done so
It comes as ESR scientists are continuing to monitor the latest variant, JN1, which has been detected nationwide and is also popping up in Europe and the US.
“Covid in wastewater started climbing at the end of October, beginning of November,” said ESR senior scientist Joanne Hewitt.
“Since then, it's sort of plateaued at a level that’s the highest that we've seen all year, but that's on a low base that we've seen throughout the year.”
Hewitt said the ESR testing team does not currently believe the JN1 variant is associated with severe illness or a rise in hospitalisations, but it's predicted to replace the currently predominant variant.
Epidemiologist Michael Baker said we are now in the fifth wave of Covid-19 - and the current wave appears larger than the fourth wave – a sign the virus "is winning at the moment."
Many airline passengers 1News spoke to today appeared unperturbed by the latest rise in cases.
One man said his family would deal with it if they become unwell.
One Kiwi health worker heading overseas said: "There’s lots of other stuff out there, it’s not just about Covid today."
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