The Front Page: Covid, RSV, flu – the winter wave of infection is heading our way

The rising number of Covid cases, hospitalizations and deaths suggests we may be facing another harsh winter. This week, another 14,242 Covid cases were reported in the week as of midnight Sunday, up from 12,129 the previous week.

The additional problem is that Covid is not the only disease we will have to deal with.

University of Otago infectious disease expert Dr Jemma Geoghegan tells The first page podcast that other more established viruses should also be considered this year.

“Since we’ve had more movement across our borders, we’ve had bigger outbreaks, especially RSV in 2021 when we had a travel bubble with Australia,” she says.

“Already there have been many cases of influenza introduced into New Zealand this year.”

Winter is when respiratory viruses are most common – a problem exacerbated by the fact that we spend more time indoors.

“Covid is just going to be one of those respiratory viruses that will be worse in the winter because it becomes more seasonal.”

Geoghegan says New Zealanders should take this as a warning to update not only with their Covid reminders, but also with the flu shot.

“Immunity has waned, and it’s probably been a while since most people got a booster or a vaccine,” she says.

She explains that vaccine technology has come a long way from when most New Zealanders would have received their first batch of vaccines.

“The new bivalent vaccine not only includes protection against the original strain that first emerged in Wuhan, but it also includes the breakthrough protein Omicron.”

This is important as the majority of cases that continue to spread around Aotearoa are still caused by the Omicron variant – including the new Arcturus sub-variant which is being closely watched by medical professionals around the world.

“With everything including Omicron, this [vaccine] should offer better protection than the previous version of the vaccine.

So how bad could our winter outbreak be? Do we need another big advertising campaign to encourage Kiwis to get vaccinated? And where does this approaching wave of infection leave vulnerable members of our society?

Listen to the full episode of The first page podcast to hear Dr. Geoghegan answer these questions and more.