And ATAGI recommends Pfizer and Moderna vaccines for boosters.
Welcome to The Medical Republic’s Covid Catch-Up.
It’s the latest covid-19 news in one convenient post. Email bianca@biancanogrady.com with tips, comments or suggestions.
3 March
- Global rates of anxiety and depressive disorders increase by 25%-27%.
- Pfizer and Moderna the booster vaccines of choice, ATAGI says.
- Global covid infection rates continue to drop.
- Covid claims 246 lives in Australia over the past week.
Feeling more anxious since the pandemic began? You’re not alone. A World Health Organisation report has found the global prevalence of anxiety disorders increased by 25%, and the prevalence of major depressive disorders by 27% in the first year of SARS-CoV-2’s global rampage.
The higher the covid infection rates in different regions, the greater the increase in anxiety and depression, WHO said, and the increase was particularly evident among women and young people.
However, the data so far collected does not show any overall significant increase or decrease in suicide rates globally, although there were country-level variations with some countries reporting a fall in suicide rates – Australia included – and others such as Austria, Japan and West Bengal in India showing increases.
Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are the preferred choice for booster doses in those aged over 16 or 18 respectively, AstraZeneca should only be used if mRNA vaccines cannot be used, and Novavax is the last-resort booster vaccine for over-18s if no other choice is available.
The latest advice from ATAGI stresses the importance of booster doses against Omicron, citing evidence suggesting that the effectiveness of two doses in protecting against symptomatic covid drops rapidly by four months after the second dose. A booster dose restores that protection to around 50%-75% in the first three months after the booster, and declines to 40%-50% at four to sixth months after the booster.
Boosters also provide significant protection against hospitalisation and up to 99% protection against death from Omicron infection.
The AstraZeneca vaccine is now only for use as a booster dose in people who have a medical contraindication to the mRNA vaccines, such as previous pericarditis, myocarditis or anaphylaxis.
Similarly, Novavax is not yet approved as a booster dose but can be used in those aged 18 or over if no other vaccine choice is available.
Global covid infection rates continue to decline, with the WHO reporting a 16% drop in new infections and 10% drop in deaths in the past week compared to the previous week.
The bad news is infections are rising dramatically in some countries in the western Pacific, with New Zealand recording a four-fold increase in new cases, China reporting a 2.8-fold increase and South Korea a 69% increase in the past week.
Covid has claimed 246 lives in Australia over the past week.
