Health expert furious as Aussies avoid getting the Covid-19 vaccine: 'We have dropped the ball'

Australians have been warned that falling Covid vaccinations rates could pose a risk as a new highly contagious strain of the virus emerges.

The variant known as NB.1.8.1 - first recorded on January 21 - is responsible for a sharp rise in cases in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan and is now the dominant strain in WA, responsible for a 24 per cent jump in case numbers.

Professor Paul Griffin, from Mater Hospital in Brisbane, said the Covid vaccination rate is the lowest it has been since they were introduced five years ago.

'We have dropped the ball with Covid-19 vaccinations, but this disease is still very prevalent in the community and poses a serious threat to high-risk patients,' said Prof. Griffin, who is director of infectious diseases at the hospital.

'It should now be a once-a-year booster, just like the flu vaccine is, and with winter here next week, now is the time to get vaccinated and it's safe to get them both together.

'There are hundreds of different strains of Omicron, and the new subvariant NB.1.8.1 is driving up infections and hospitalisations, particularly in Asia and Western Australia.

'The best way to protect yourself and your family, is to get the newest booster which provides very good coverage, is safe, and will reduce the severity of your symptoms.'

Fewer than 250,000 Queenslanders have received a yearly booster despite it, along with the flu vaccine, being free.

He said there has also been a sharp rise in flu cases in Queensland with more than 2,000 people already hospitalised this year.

This is a 30 per cent increase on the same period last year and could pose a threat of overloading the hospital system if Covid cases also spiked.

He said cases of Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) were also high with 1,500 people hospitalised making it a 'triple threat'.

'More than half of these hospitalisations have been for the most vulnerable in our community, babies less than six months and people over 65,' Prof Griffin said.

RSV vaccinations are free for pregnant women, with immunity then passed onto babies up until they are six months old.

Experts have warned that childhood vaccination rates across the board - not just for Covid - have been steadily dropping since the Covid pandemic.

'Since 2020, the share of children who are fully vaccinated has fallen every year. For every child vaccine on the National Immunisation Schedule, protection was lower in 2024 than in 2020,' Professor Peter Beadon of the Grattan Institute said.

'Globally, in 2023, measles cases rose by 20 per cent.

'Australia has been a vaccination success story... it made children healthier... some diseases such as polio were virtually eliminated... but that success is at risk.'