Gaps in COVID evidence are profiled in the column this week, as are developments at the interim Cente for Disease Control. We also bring a stack of conference selfies, and the latest global health headlines.
Check out the list of Medicare Champions, ahead of an upcoming advertising campaign to help raise the profile of primary care and attract more people to the sector.
The quotable?
No SCREEN TIME if you’re under 16 but you can do REAL TIME if you’re over the age of 10.”
COVID gaps
The COVID-19 Response Inquiry report did not include a ringing endorsement for interventions to improve air quality, such as ventilation and filtering, stating that further research was needed to establish their merits in infection control.
On the use of HEPA filters in aged care, for example, the report said “this area of research is complex and requires further investigation to properly evaluate clinical effectiveness against the opportunity costs of not investing in other infection control measures that have already been shown to be clinically beneficial and cost-effective”.
Asked to comment on this issue, the Burnet Institute provided Croakey with the following statement:
Burnet airborne infection researcher Professor Helen Cox said the Commonweath Government’s missed a crucial opportunity to highlight the importance of adopting measures to improve indoor air quality to protect against future pandemic emergencies.
“By investing in better indoor air quality – particularly in crowded, high-risk environments where people spend most of their time – we can create safer indoor spaces and reduce the need for disruptive measures such as lockdowns and isolation, when the next pandemic arrives,” she said.
Current research, led by Burnet Institute, aims to demonstrate that improvements in ventilation, air filtration, and the use of technologies such as germicidal ultraviolet lights can play an important role in reducing the transmission of airborne viruses, including COVID-19.
“Measures that improve the quality of indoor air are essential to a comprehensive pandemic preparedness strategy,” Professor Cox said.
“Burnet Institute urges the Australian Government to invest in indoor air quality research and implementation to enhance resilience against future pandemics and promote health equity through safer environments, accessible to all.”
“By prioritising clean indoor air, Australia can reduce the health, economic, and social impacts of airborne diseases and establish a more resilient public health framework for the future.”
The Doherty Institute, while welcoming many aspects of the inquiry’s report, said it “omitted the important role of technical scientific expertise, innovation and workforce readiness to advance early detection of pathogens, diagnostics and clinical trials, and the need for sovereign capability for discovery, testing and manufacture of vaccines and therapeutics”.
Meanwhile, seven articles investigating the health and financial burdens of long COVID in Victoria have been published as a supplement of The Medical Journal of Australia.
They were first presented as part of the Victorian long COVID conference in September 2023, and include reports on the role of allied health in rehabilitation, lived experience, and the financial impact upon hospitals.
One paper, The economic burden of long COVID in Australia: more noise than signal?, notes that Australia lacks adequate direct surveillance data to guide related policy making.
“The continued absence of regular population surveillance to assess the prevalence of long COVID in Australia places us at odds with peer nations such as the UK, the US and Canada,” report the authors.
“Our results suggest that regular, high quality surveillance data are an essential but lacking ingredient in Australia’s policy response to long COVID.
“They also suggest that optimal surveillance efforts should be targeted towards those who are more seriously affected by this condition, as this is the group that is in most urgent need of support.”
Global health
UN News reports that the world’s largest biodiversity summit, known as COP16, which wrapped up recently in Colombia, included first ever agreements on nature’s genetic data and on recognising people of Africa descent and Indigenous Peoples as key stewards in conservation efforts. This will mean a permanent space for Indigenous Peoples and local communities to participate in decision making on biodiversity.
#AusPol
Job opportunities are popping up over at LinkedIn
First Nations health and wellbeing
Awards
Twenty health professionals and health teams have been recognised as Medicare Champions in the Federal Government’s Stronger Medicare Awards.
The awards recognise and honour the outstanding health professionals and other workers in clinics, health centres, general practices and primary care settings. More details are here.
Minister Mark Butler said a new advertising campaign is planned for early 2025, to help raise the profile of working in primary care and attract more people to the sector.
“It seems incredible to me that there has never been a primary care workforce campaign, considering how important this sector is. Development of that campaign is underway right now,” he said.
“The campaign will elevate primary care and raise the profile of GPs, nurses, midwives, allied health professionals, First Nations health practitioners and every single role that make primary care and Medicare what they are today.”
Conference Watch
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