Some state premiers and chief health officers are calling on people to use masks in public indoor spaces
estimates BA.4 and BA.5 to be about 36% more infectious than BA.2. This infectiousness is driving a new wave of disease, however, there is no indication the variants are more severe.
“Maybe Atagi doesn’t make any change or maybe it simply reduces the age threshold down to something like 50 or 55 as we’ve seen in some other countries,” he said. He added Atagi would have to balance the case for an immediate fourth dose for healthcare workers or wait for a more targeted top-up shot that could better protect against the new subvariants.
for people at increased risk, including older people, people with medical conditions that increases the risk of severe illness, and people with disability with significant or complex health needs. Atagi has said it will continue to review its advice and will update it if necessary. “Unless we pull together as one again, this new wave will hit schools and businesses hard, just like BA.1 did, which saw thousands of workers absent,” she said.
“There is a view that mandatory mask requirements might not be as effective as they have been in the past, partly because those people who are willing to wear masks are already doing so,” she said.
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