What's That Rash?

Rapid-antigen tests promised so much: a quick, cheap and easy way to tell if you were COVID positive so you could make a decision to help protect yourself, family and community.But in reality, it's far more complicated. The tests were initially hard to come by, expensive for some and the rollout was patchy.And now, add to that the fact that the coronavirus has continued to evolve - making it hard to tell if RATs can even detect COVID.So on this week's Coronacast, should we give a rat about RATs anymore? And why is it important that the tests do as they say?

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 also starting to pick up in Australia.It's likely that they'll take over the BA5 subvariant that's been dominant for the past several months.So what could these new variants bring and given they're likely to evade our immune systems, what could it mean for spread and severe disease?

For those keeping count, 2022 hasn't been a great year for animal virus outbreaks into human populations.A new study has suggested that the Omicron variant may have had a reservoir in mice.Also, there are warnings that the East Coast floods may see a rise in people infected with the Japanese encephalitis virus, and parts of Uganda are locked down to prevent an Ebola outbreak from spreading into cities and across borders.So what's going on and how can we make sense of it all?

After all big events, it's important to look back and think about what worked and what didn't.And one of the biggest events lately is COVID, and especially how Australia handled it.A group of researchers and experts have done just that, analyzing everything from the vaccine rollout to virus control measures to looking at what could be improved for the next pandemic.So what did we do well, and what could we have done better?

The first COVID booster that targets the Omicron variant has finally been introduced to Australia's vaccine rollout.The vaccine from Moderna targets the BA.1 Omicron subvariant, but that's no longer the dominant strain.Omicron has continued to evolve since the vaccine was updated, and the dominant strain is now BA5.So how well will the new vaccine work with BA5? And if you've already had 4 doses, why can't you get this one as your 5th?

The decision by National Cabinet to remove mandatory isolation for people testing positive to COVID-19 is seen by many as an "official" end to the pandemic.The period had already been reduced from two weeks to one week to 5 days, but soon it'll be gone entirely.It's one of the final public health controls that remained to try and slow the spread of the virus, and some experts say it'll lead to problems down the road.So for how long should we treat COVID differently?

Russia has been in the news for all the wrong reasons, and here's another concern to add to the list.Scientists are on the alert about the risk of another virus spilling over from animals to humans. This time it's Russian horseshoe bats and a coronavirus from the SARS family.It's known as Khosta 2 and while there has been no known human transmission so far, unlike Khosta 1 scientists say there is the possibility that it could occur.And it's not affected by vaccines for COVID-19.That's on this week's Cororonacast.Also on today's show:* Tracking new COVID variants: we look at 2.75.2

One of the mainstays over the past few years has been daily reporting of COVID cases, hospitalisations, ICUs and deaths.

When COVID hit, there were a whole lot of predictions about how many people would die.Not just of the virus itself, but the knock on effects from reduced care and other diseases.One of the latest attempts at working out the number of excess deaths is recently published and has taken a wide view of the population looking for trends.And while the group found that excess deaths from undiagnosed COVID is likely low in Australia, increased deaths from COVID-caused complications is beginning to show up.

It may not be long before Omicron specific vaccines are available in Australia, like they are elsewhere in the world.Last week the Therapeutic Goods Administration provisionally approved an Omicron variant specific vaccine, but we’re still waiting on ATAGI to recommend its use.So with it likely to be available soon, is it worth waiting for if you’re due for your booster or should you just get what’s available now?Also on today’s show:* Snot and the inner parts of your nose - could this be the key to finally ending the pandemic?