A fourth Covid vaccine will be made available to more Australians as health authorities attempt to stave off further spread of the infectious virus which continues to place the health system under enormous pressure. The Australian Technical Advisory Group on… Read More »More Australians to be eligible for fourth dose of Covid vaccine as Omicron infections rise
Two vaccines that specifically target the Omicron variant have been granted “provisional determination” by Australia’s drugs regulator, the first step in a process for getting the vaccines approved for use. It comes as the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants of Omicron… Read More »Pfizer vaccines that target Omicron variant pass first step to approval in Australia
New Zealand school principals are raising the alarm that students are falling off the rolls, as a wave of absenteeism follows the disruption of Covid-19. In 2021, schools in Auckland and parts of the North Island were shut down for… Read More »New Zealand principals voice alarm as students fail return to school after Covid lockdowns
St Basil’s Homes for the Aged in Melbourne is dealing with another outbreak of Covid-19, almost two years after 45 residents died from the virus. The federal Department of Health and Aged Care on Tuesday confirmed 14 residents and one… Read More »New Covid outbreak at St Basil’s aged care home in Melbourne
From 5m ago Disaster recovery payment available to flood victims from tomorrow The prime minister Anthony Albanese is speaking now on ABC TV. He says he’ll be visiting the flood-affected areas today and that they’ve made a determination on disaster… Read More »Australia news live: PM to visit flood areas with NSW crisis an insurance ‘catastrophe’; Atagi weighs recommendation for fourth Covid jab
Businesses, schools and restaurants in Xi’an will close for one week, officials have said, after the Chinese city logged a handful of Covid-19 cases as outbreaks nationwide strain Beijing’s zero-tolerance virus approach. China is the last major economy wedded to… Read More »China imposes Covid lockdown in Xi’an after handful of cases
New Zealand is on the brink of another Omicron wave, experts warn, with average cases rising as immunity wanes, more infectious variants arrive, and winter sets in. Public health experts, however, are concerned that the public and government are primarily… Read More »New Zealand faces new Covid wave as experts say moving on from pandemic is ‘wishful thinking’
Australia is heading for its third Omicron wave in the coming weeks, as BA.4 and BA.5 become the dominant Covid strains. BA.4 and BA.5 are more infectious than previous Covid variants and subvariants, and are better able to evade immunity… Read More »New Covid subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 are the most contagious yet – and driving Australia’s third Omicron wave | Adrian Esterman
Federal disaster payments available to 23 flood-affected areas in NSW Josh Butler The federal government is making disaster relief payments available to 23 flood-affected areas in NSW, with emergency management minister Murray Watt saying the assistance would be “uncapped”. Watt… Read More »Australia news live: thousands more evacuated in Sydney floods; interest rate decision due; cargo ship still stranded
A Hong Kong legislator who appeared in a group photo with Xi Jinping during his visit to the territory has said he has tested positive for Covid, as Macau kicks off a new round of city-wide coronavirus testing. In his… Read More »Xi Jinping in Covid scare during Hong Kong handover trip