Weekly COVID news at a glance

1. International travel vaccination certificates

The proof will be available to Australian passport holders and Australian visa holders who have their COVID-19 vaccinations recorded on the Australian Immunisation Register, government ministers said in a joint statement on Sunday night.

 The proof will enable fully vaccinated Australians to depart Australia and travel internationally consistent with the National Plan to transition Australia’s COVID-19 Response.

It can be downloaded digitally or in printed form and is compatible with COVID-19 travel apps such as the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Travel Pass. The federal government has announced that international travel restrictions will start to ease from the beginning of November for fully vaccinated Australians.

2. Contact tracer changes

Victoria’s contact tracing systems are changing, as the state’s reaches what health officials hope is the peak of COVID-19 case numbers

Previously, the goal was to stop and track every case, but now the focus is on the cases that are the highest risk. It means people who test positive will be treated differently, depending on who they are, where they work and whether they’re vaccinated.

For example, when someone young and healthy tests positive, they might only receive a text to isolate. But someone who is at risk of severe illness, such as the elderly or immunocompromised, they will receive a call and further communication.

3. Home COVID-19 tests approved in Australia

Three COVID-19 self-test kits with an accuracy of around 97 per cent will hit pharmacy shelves on 1 November. The Therapeutic Goods Administration has given the Chinese-made tests the green light, as attention turns from lockdowns to living with the virus.

Two of the rapid antigen tests involve spitting in a tube while the third is a nasal swab. The instructions note that if there is a positive result, confirmation must be sought via a laboratory PCR test.

4. Quarantine-free travel 

Quarantine-free travel between Australia and the South Island of New Zealand is ready to resume, Chief Medical Official Paul Kelly says. He said NSW and Victoria have agreed to allow trips to restart from midnight on Tuesday given there has not been a COVID-19 case in the South Island since last year.

 “We hope to allow anyone who has been in the South Island of New Zealand whether Australian, New Zealanders or other nationalities, as long as they have been there for 14 days, to come in quarantine free.”

Health Minister Greg Hunt said he has also been in discussions with his Singaporean counterpart about a green lane travel bubble for fully vaccinated travellers from the Asian city-state. 

5. Supply for new COVID-19 treatments

Australia has secured two additional COVID-19 treatments, but Health Minister Greg Hunt has made it clear they are not replacing vaccinations.

The government has reached an agreement with Roche Products to supply 15,000 doses of the COVID-19 antibody-based therapy Ronapreve. Mr Hunt said the intravenous treatment given in the early stages of infection provides a 70 per cent reduction in the likelihood of someone being hospitalised or dying.

The government has also secured 500,000 courses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 oral antiviral drug, which will be available in 2022 subject to Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) approval.

Pfizer’s COVID-19 oral antiviral drug

COVID-19 antibody-based therapy Ronapreve

6. Vaccines safe for fertility and pregnancy

Experts are concerned about pregnant women holding back from getting their COVID-19 vaccines due to misinformation. There is no evidence that the vaccine is harmful.

Scientific data shows that vaccines have no effect on fertility and are safe while pregnant. Senior Lecturer in Gynaecology and obstetrics, Michelle Wise, said there is evidence that the real cause of severe disease in pregnant women is the COVID-19 virus

Currently in the UK, one in six of the most critically ill COVID patients are unvaccinated pregnant women. Myths around vaccines affecting fertility can be traced back to American websites that highlighted a European doctor’s claims in 2020 while the vaccine was in stage 3 trials. But studies have since confirmed his claims were not proven or factual and there has been NO reports of infertility or miscarriage in relation to the vaccine.