Australians have been urged to get their flu vaccinations to help hospitals cope in the months ahead as they deal with a rise in Covid-19 cases, and as some states experience double-digit daily death tolls.
At least 42 coronavirus deaths were recorded on Wednesday in Australia, with 10 in New South Wales, 13 in Victoria, 10 in Western Australia and nine in Queensland.
There were 4,027 Covid deaths nationally in the first quarter of 2022, data from the Actuaries Institute shows, including 1,668 in January, 1,520 in February and 839 in March. So far in April there have been 770 deaths.
Prof Jason Kovacic, a cardiologist at St Vincent’s hospital in Sydney, said it was predominantly older, unvaccinated people who were most at risk. “The overriding picture is that we are seeing people in hospital with Covid who have underlying health conditions or are immunosuppressed,” he said.
“It is still very random and rare that a fit, healthy and vaccinated patient will come in with severe Covid.”
Kovacic said deaths were now occurring in people who had been in hospital for weeks, after a wave of Covid patients with chest infections and pneumonias.
“We are in this in-between period where we are seeing patients where Covid has led to organ complications in their heart or lungs, or kidney failure,” he said.
“It’s mainly those in their 50s, 60s and 70s with severe underlying conditions getting into trouble at the moment.”
Kovacic said the hospital system was coping and was well prepared for any increase in hospitalisations over the winter months.
But he said with influenza cases also on the rise, people must get vaccinated against the flu to reduce the burden.
“This time last year the flu wasn’t such a concern, because we were all in lockdown or in isolation,” he said. “It’ll be different this season, and getting vaccinated against the flu is also something that’s really important to do.”
Prof Allen Cheng, an infectious diseases physician at the Alfred hospital in Melbourne, said all Covid-19 deaths were tragic.
“Underlying disease can encompass quite a spectrum of diseases, from high blood pressure to advanced cancer, and even in those with a limited life expectancy a death from Covid may still have taken away valuable time from their life,” he said.
The cause of death can be difficult to attribute, Cheng said.
“Some are definitely due to severe Covid,” he said. “Some are clearly unrelated, for example trauma. And some are complex, such as Covid in a patient with advanced cancer.
“The clearly unrelated ones are not reported as Covid deaths, although sometimes they aren’t completely clear until the coroner makes a determination.”
Unvaccinated people are overrepresented in deaths, Cheng said, highlighting the efficacy of vaccines.