Living with Covid-19 in 2022 involves moving from ‘crisis’ to ‘business as usual’. OLIVIA LOUKAS reflects on those aspects of 2021 Covid-19 management that need to improve to secure this transition.
Below are our sources for this article by Olivia, published separately on our website and in our newsletter today.
Click here to read this article.
We said: “While 5.2 per cent live in aged care accommodation including nursing homes, that means 94.8 per cent do not.”
To find out more, go to:
The Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2016). 4430.0 – Disability, Ageing and Carers, Australia: Summary of Findings, 2015. Australian Bureau of Statistics. https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/4430.0main+features302015#:~:text=Population%20characteristics,all%20older%20people%20lived%20alone
And for more on that discussion, go to:
Ho FK, Petermann-Rocha F, Gray SR, Jani BD, Katikireddi SV, Niedzwiedz CL, et al. (2020) Is older age associated with COVID-19 mortality in the absence of other risk factors? General population cohort study of 470,034 participants. PLoS ONE 15(11): e0241824. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0241824
For the University of Hong Kong research on Omicron’s faster replication rate, go to:
HKUMed. (2021, December 15). HKUMed finds Omicron SARS-CoV-2 can infect faster and better than Delta in human bronchus but with less severe infection in lung. HKUMed. Retrieved February 09, 2022 from https://www.med.hku.hk/en/news/press/20211215-omicron-sars-cov-2-infection
For more on the lower rates of hospitalisation with the Omicron variant, go to:
Tapper, J. (2022, January 2). New studies reinforce belief that Omicron is less likely to damage lungs. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jan/02/new-studies-reinforce-belief-that-omicron-is-less-likely-to-damage-lungs
Note: the journal quoted in this article is yet to be peer-reviewed. The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. (2022). In the Journals: Comparison of Omicron Vs. Delta Clinical Outcomes | Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. https://www.chop.edu/news/journals-comparison-omicron-vs-delta-clinical-outcomes
To reach Healthdirect’s symptom checker, go to:
Healthdirect Australia. (2020). Healthdirect Symptom Checker | healthdirect. https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/symptom-checker/tool/basic-details
For more on nonsense language translations, go to:
Dalzell, S. (2020, August 12). ‘Nonsense’ translations of coronavirus messages distributed by governments. ABC News. Retrieved February 03, 2022 from https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-08-13/coronavirus-messages-translated-to-nonsense-in-other-languages/12550520
To read about the risks of English only instructions:
Maloney, R., Darling, A., & Allison, C. (2022, January 04). English-only instructions in rapid antigen tests leave multicultural communities behind. ABC News. Retrieved February 04, 2022 from https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-01-05/rapid-antigen-test-instructions-for-multicultural-communities/100737424
And on the volunteers filling the gaps, go to:
Bali, M. (2021). Volunteers translating critical health messages say they’re filling a gap left by the NSW government. Triple j. https://www.abc.net.au/triplej/programs/hack/volunteers-deliver-critical-health-messages-south-west-sydney/13442730
For more on NSW online translations, go to:
NSW Multicultural Health Communication Service. (n.d.). Translated information about COVID-19. MHCS. Retrieved March 01, 2022 from https://www.mhcs.health.nsw.gov.au/publications/translated-information-about-covid-19?collectionfilter=1
And to see the discussion on under-resourced and overworked aged care workers, go to:
Pagone, T. & Briggs, L. (2020, October 1). Aged care and COVID-19: A special report. [PDF]. Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety. https://agedcare.royalcommission.gov.au/sites/default/files/2020-12/aged-care-and-covid-19-a-special-report.pdf
Read our article Melbourne study confirms extra suffering for families of those dying in nursing homes during Covid-19.
Click below to sign up to the Good Grief! e-newsletter.