THE SQUIZ
The way Aussies get tested for COVID is set to change from 1 January when we’ll need to get a referral for a Medicare-funded PCR test at a private clinic. Federal Health Minister Mark Butler yesterday outlined the $2.8 billion national COVID health management plan for 2023, and while he’s agreed to extend Commonwealth funding for state-run testing sites where free PCR tests are available, few are still operational. Butler says health services will move away from “COVID exceptionalism” but that we are “not yet at a ‘steady state’ where we can predict and manage it within normal systems.” So the plan is there to ensure our health system has the “capacity and capability” to respond to future outbreaks.

WHAT SHOULD I DO IF I FEEL A BIT COVIDY?
If you’re at low-risk of serious health consequences and feel sick, the advice is to stay at home. If you test positive with a rapid antigen test (RAT), the advice is the same. Remember, there’s no longer the requirement to stay at home, but officials (and those you could come into contact with) want you to keep your distance… As for high-risk individuals (aka older/Indigenous/disabled/immunocompromised Aussies), they will be prioritised for PCRs and remain eligible for antivirals drugs. COVID jabs will also continue to be free for those eligible across the spectrum. And while Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly warns that new variants and COVID waves are expected until at least 2025, but the “severity of future waves may be milder,” he says.

YEAH, BUT WHAT ABOUT LONG COVID?
Long COVID hasn’t had much airtime in Oz, but in other countries like the UK where 2 million people are suspected of having it, it’s a hot topic. The plan released yesterday notes that Oz is likely to have a different experience to other countries due to “our high 2-dose vaccination rates and the fact that our widespread levels of infection only occurred after the Omicron variant emerged”. Nonetheless, officials will release a separate long-COVID strategy after more research has been conducted to ensure the health system can support people who suffer from prolonged effects of the virus. Some battling the condition welcomed the development as warmly as the lingering symptoms of the virus – journo Tracey Spicer was one who voiced her, ahem, disappointment, saying the government’s response is akin to “kicking the can down the road”.