The new COVID-19 wave emerging in Victoria threatens a perfect storm with new sub-variants coinciding with waning protection from vaccinations/infections as well as the removal of most mandated protection measures.
New sub-variants of Coronavirus are increasingly appearing in Government statistics and clinical breakdowns of the virus' spread. The BQ1 and XBB sub-variants of Omicron have surged overseas and are picking up here. It's likely that they'll take over the BA5 subvariant that's been dominant for the past several months.
With uncertainty about what these new variants bring, there are concerns about what could it mean for the spread and severity of the disease – and the impact on vulnerable members of the community including people with cancer.
Director of Oncology and Cancer Services, St Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne
Physician, Infectious Diseases Specialist, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre
Physician, Infectious Diseases Specialist, Monash Health
Head of Division, Strategy and Support, Cancer Council Victoria
Consumer advocate
Clinician-researcher, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and the National Centre for Infections in Cancer
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