Experts are urging people to get their COVID booster jab as a new, more infectious variant emerges in Australia. NB.1.8.1 accounts for 40 per cent of cases in Victoria and 25 per cent in Western Australia and New South Wales, around 20 per cent in Queensland and less than 10 per cent in South Australia. Doctors are expecting a further spike in cases.
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00:01This new strain is called NB1.8.1 and it was first detected back in January.
00:08Now it's being monitored closely by the World Health Organisation
00:12because it says infections are growing rapidly.
00:15Now here in Brisbane at Griffith University
00:17they say that they're starting to see this strain
00:20accounting for a significant proportion of infections nationwide,
00:24as many as 40% in Victoria.
00:27It's also accounting for around 10% of cases overseas
00:31and has actually become the dominant strain in both China and Hong Kong.
00:36Now the issue with any new variant is that our existing antibodies
00:40don't work as well because our vaccines are tailored to those older strains.
00:45So that means we start to see more disease in the community
00:48and when people are diseased and symptomatic
00:51they're more likely to pass that virus on.
00:54In some good news, Griffith University says that this strain
00:58appears to be related to the Omicron sub-variants
01:01and so our existing vaccines will still offer some protection.
01:05And Lorna, any protection can stave off serious disease.
01:09Now even, sorry I should say it's been around five years since the pandemic began.
01:14More concerningly for public health officials than perhaps the emergence of a new strain
01:20is the fact that we're just not seeing as many people get vaccinated as what we're used to
01:25unless people are getting their booster shot ahead of winter.
01:29We're already seeing infections climb here in Queensland and also in New South Wales
01:33but that's being mirrored right across the country.
01:36And so Lorna, we're really encouraging people to get out there and get their booster
01:39before winter hits this weekend.
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