It is no time to breathe easy, Sydney – the holiday COVID threat is serious
Opinion by Professor Raina Macintyre, the head of Biosecurity Research Program at the Kirby Institute, UNSW. READ MORE
The ‘big problem’ with Australia’s COVID vaccine plan
Professor MacIntyre says Australia’s vaccine plan relies too heavily on vaccines which appear to be less effective, and we have not secured enough doses of the more promising mRNA vaccines, which include the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines. READ MORE
COVID experts share their tips on enjoying the holiday season
With states now opening up borders, negligible community transmission of COVID-19 and a record against the pandemic that is the envy of the world, you could be forgiven for thinking this holiday season will be a return to normal.
But according to four COVID-19 experts at UNSW Sydney, festivities this year will be very different. READ MORE
Australians should 'think twice' before booking Christmas flights
Global Biosecurity Professor Raina MacIntyre said, "we've seen throughout the pandemic, we've seen breaches of different kinds and we can expect that, at times, things won't flow smoothly and there'll be problems" Hear the interview.
Medical experts dispute claims of new COVID strain in SA
Despite not recording any new infections overnight (to Thursday 19 November), an explosion of cases linked to hotel quarantine in Adelaide has seen the state enter a stringent six-day lockdown that will be followed by at least another eight days of enhanced restrictions.
Professor Raina MacIntyre, Head of the Biosecurity Program at the Kirby Institute, speculated that if the coronavirus circulating in SA is a different viral isolate, it could be the M349K variant found in Europe, which is reportedly more infectious. READ MORE.
COVID contact tracing: Australia needs an automated system
The people at highest risk of getting infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, are close contacts of infected cases. So tracking these close contacts, and quarantining them so they can’t infect others, is key to efficient epidemic control. Sometimes we also have to track contacts who attend venues where super-spreading occurs. READ MORE
Why super-spreaders should be vaccinated early
University of NSW infectious disease expert Raina MacIntyre said vaccinating potential super-spreaders early made sense, and said the logistics of a mass vaccination program "needs to be planned in earnest right now". READ MORE
Australian experts respond to Pfizer vaccine announcement
Pfizer and BioNTech have issued a press release, announcing that their vaccine candidate is more than 90% effective in preventing COVID-19. The results are based on initial data from a large study of 43,538 participants, including 94 confirmed cases of COVID-19.
Professor Raina MacIntyre is Head of the Biosecurity Program at the Kirby Institute at the University of NSW. An expert in influenza and emerging infectious diseases, Professor MacIntyre said that the data needs to be seen in a peer-reviewed publication to fully evaluate it. Read more
Healthcare workers almost three times more likely to get COVID-19
Australian doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers are nearly three times more likely to get COVID-19 than other Australians, a new study of the early pandemic period from UNSW Sydney’s Kirby Institute published in the International Journal of Nursing Studies estimates. READ MORE
Global biosecurity expert weighs in on whether Australia should open international borders
There’s speculation that home quarantine may be part of a future plan for returned international travellers, but professor of global biosecurity at the University of New South Wales, Raina MacIntyre, says it’s a risky strategy. READ MORE