How to keep COVID-safe over Christmas

As the weather warms up and the holiday season begins, many of us are looking forward to switching off and spending time with family and friends. Ninety per cent of Australians aged 16 and older are fully vaccinated, and all state borders — except for Western Australia — have opened in time for Christmas.

But with escalating COVID-19 cases and the arrival of the fast-spreading Omicron variant, health experts are encouraging people to be mindful of COVID-19 as they mix with others outside their home. To keep things COVID-safe over the festive season, here’s what the experts recommend.

If you’re eligible, get your booster

The federal government recently cut the waiting time for boosters from six months to five, meaning 4.1 million Australians will be eligible for their third dose by December 31.

Booster shots aren’t mandatory, but research shows they increase your protection against infection and severe disease,  says Catherine Bennett, chair of epidemiology at Deakin University.

A large South African study (which has not yet been peer reviewed) recently found two vaccine doses provided 70 per cent protection against severe disease with Omicron, but just 33 per cent protection against infection.

Preliminary data published last week by Australian researchers showed a booster vaccine has the potential to raise that protection to 86 per cent against symptomatic infection, and 98 per cent against severe disease.

Reduce the risks at social events

Unlike the northern hemisphere, Australia has the advantage of a festive season that coincides with summer (although La Niña means big chunks of the east coast can expect wetter-than-average conditions this year).

If the weather permits, Dr Vally recommends planning your Christmas and end-of-year festivities outside, where the risk of COVID transmission is significantly lower.

That’s because most COVID transmission happens indoors, particularly in crowded and poorly ventilated spaces. If you are indoors, consider opening up some windows and dining in your biggest room.

That includes good hand hygiene, coughing or sneezing into your elbow, and, when it’s possible, social distancing.

What if you have at-risk family or friends?

A big part of the decision about what level of precautions you might want to take will come down to the people you will socialise with.

Research suggests adults over 65 and people who are immunocompromised are more at risk of serious disease from a breakthrough infection.

To reduce the risk of COVID-19 being passed on to someone who is more vulnerable, Dr Quinn suggests everyone attending the event take a rapid antigen test beforehand. Rapid antigen tests are available in pharmacies and supermarkets and return results in about 20 to 30 minutes.

Professor Bennett said the screening tests were less accurate than PCR tests done at testing centres, but still “pretty reliable”.

When your loved ones aren’t vaccinated

While the vast majority of Australians eligible for a COVID-19 jab have been vaccinated, many people will be navigating the holiday season with unvaccinated family and friends.

Health experts say although it’s important to protect yourself and others — by taking into account vulnerable people and how much COVID is in the community — it’s also worth remembering that vaccine risk isn’t all or nothing.

Being fully vaccinated against COVID-19 reduces your risk of getting infected and of passing the virus on, but it doesn’t eliminate the risk entirely.

If you have an unvaccinated person attending a family or social event, you might like to ask them to take a rapid test beforehand.

This is particularly important if there is someone attending who is more vulnerable (in which case, the experts agreed, it’s a good idea to ask everyone to take a test).