Sydney risks a spike if it opens too quickly

Balancing the threat to health posed by COVID and the need to re-open a largely vaccinated society is a difficult choice, but new modelling suggests a heavy price will be paid if New South Wales opens too quickly.

Holding onto hope

The COVID-19 pandemic provides a “hopeful moment” – to use a phrase coined by Hirokazu Myazaki – to create opportunities for envisioning alternative futures, ones that are more inclusive and caring, less environmentally destructive, and oriented to fulfilling basic human needs.

No ‘Freedom Day’ for Australia just yet

Patchy uptake of COVID-19 vaccines across cities and regions means Australia’s public health measures are likely to continue well into next year, with a leading epidemiologist predicting the country will achieve tolerable disease control by early 2022.

Teens need the COVID-19 jab for herd immunity

James Cook University scientists have developed a new model to track the COVID-19 pandemic – and it’s telling them Australia should now prioritise delivering the Pfizer vaccine to 12-40 year-olds.

Introducing OzSAGE – practical advice for reopening Australia

OzSAGE’s first recommendations deal with ventilation and the measures that will have to accompany widespread vaccination.

Public health v personal liberty

The COVID restrictions governments have put in place to contain the pandemic may safeguard our health but they could also corrode public trust and even the stability of liberal democracies.

Putting children and young people first

COVID-19 has put the spotlight on older people, but as we emerge from the pandemic, we will need to refocus on the needs of younger adults and children and the environments in which they live, work and play.

A choppy transition from pandemic to endemic

The Victorian and New South Wales governments are looking forward to life returning to normality despite the inexorable rise of COVID infections.

Opening up at 80% vaccinations may come with a price

A team modelling the reduction of COVID-19 restrictions after 80 per cent of the adult population is vaccinated is warning that threshold is not high enough, in contrast to the Doherty model the government’s vaccination targets are based on.

The ethical implications of vaccine passports

UNSW legal and software engineering experts look at the implications of vaccine passports and the impact on people’s liberty and safety.

We need a national plan to re-open

NSW and Victoria are in the midst of a spiraling epidemic, while other states maintain hard borders to protect themselves. We need a robust national plan all states can sign up to, without hedging or caveats, to protect Australian’s health while returning closer to normal life.

Vaccine thresholds raise the danger of repeating past mistakes

Australia could again fall into the trap of false economies by opening up too soon when vaccine rates hit 70 or 80% and allowing the COVID vaccine to run rampant.