VACCINATION alone is not enough to achieve control of the COVID-19 pandemic, experts warn, proposing a raft of measures to avoid a crippling resurgence of disease once restrictions are lifted.
Professor Raina MacIntyre, head of the biosecurity research program at the University of NSW’s Kirby Institute, is one of 48 members of a new independent pandemic advisory group, OzSAGE, which includes experts from fields ranging from medicine and public health to engineering and software design.
“One area that has not been well addressed to date is ventilation and mitigation of airborne transmission, which is the dominant mode of transmission of SARS-Cov-2,” Professor MacIntyre told InSight+.
OzSAGE is calling for a “Ventilation and Vaccine-Plus” strategy for safely lifting COVID-19 restrictions, including urgent ventilation upgrades for schools and businesses, vaccination of children, continued mask wearing and third-dose booster vaccines for front-line health workers.
Other recommendations include mask mandates in schools for K–12 and the approval of rapid antigen home test kits.