The Victorian Government advises that vaccination still provides the best protection against COVID-19. But if you do contract COVID, there is now treatment available that can prevent you from becoming seriously ill. Lagevrio and Paxlovid are antiviral tablets that are being used for early treatment against COVID-19. They need to be taken within the first […]
COTA calls for an ‘Essential Visitor’ system in aged care after fresh reports of damaging impacts on residents due to extended lockdowns in Melbourne and Sydney Council on the Ageing (COTA) Australia is calling on all State and Territory governments to immediately ensure that their public health orders and directions relating to COVID-19 and nursing
The Victorian Council of Social Service has launched a new video campaign encouraging Victorians to get the jab. The campaign doesn’t offer medical advice or rely on actors and shock tactics. Instead, it uses real people to highlight the benefits of getting vaccinated and returning to the good things in life. Watch the video and learn more
What are the side effects? As with any vaccine, the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine may cause side effects – but they are usually mild and short-lived. Around two-thirds of people experience some side effects, which start within a day and last a day or two. A very small number of people have reported more the severe
COVID-19 is highly contagious. To protect against this, the Victorian Government put the state into two extended lockdowns during 2020. While this was extremely effective at controlling the pandemic, it also had huge ramifications for family life. For older people at risk of or experiencing elder abuse, lockdown introduced new challenges. How do you seek
As restrictions ease, we’re all excited to be able to return to our social groups and community activities. When planning to host group meetings and activities, it is important to remember to use best practice and follow COVIDSafe guidelines including: providing hand sanitizer for your group wearing masks if you have vulnerable people attending keeping
The Victorian Aged Care Response Centre has been established to coordinate and expand resources to tackle the ongoing challenge of COVID-19 in aged care services. A key focus of the centre is to unify the effort across every aspect of the aged care sector during the pandemic. The centre has staff from both Commonwealth and
Download full submission as PDF In 2020 the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has dramatically affected the lives of older people and in fact all people. COTA Victoria and the City of Whittlesea conducted a survey with older people to inform future work around COVID-19. This survey is now closed. The purpose of the survey was to:
October 2020 The impact of COVID-19 on older people meant we needed to discard our plans for 2020 and work in different ways The issue In 2020 the COVID-19 pandemic dramatically affected the lives of all Victorians with older people identified as one of the groups most at risk. As the pandemic started to impact
Each year, COTA Australia provides a pre-budget submission to Treasury, making recommendations about measures that should be included in the next federal budget to better support older people. COTA Australia’s 2020–2021 pre-budget submission was submitted to Treasury back in January. Typically, the budget is handed down in May, so in normal circumstances, this would have
The extension of the JobKeeper scheme and the continued additional support for people on JobSeeker have been welcomed by Council on the Ageing (COTA) Australia as essential support for mature age workers thrown into unemployment or at risk of it due to COVID-19. However, the peak body for older Australians is calling on the Government
The State of Emergency in Victoria will be extended for another four weeks to continue the measures designed to slow the spread of coronavirus and keep Victorians safe. The State of Emergency will be extended until 11.59pm on 19 July 2020, which allows the Victorian Government to continue to enforce physical distancing and isolation requirements,
