The director of the Burnet Insitute is warning Australia will need to remain on high alert for COVID-19 outbreaks for at least the next 18 months and probably longer.

Globally, coronavirus cases are soaring and total deaths now exceed three million.

Professor Brendan Crabb told Neil Mitchell that despite the rollout of vaccines, we’re not out of the woods yet.

“This is going to go on for another 12 to 24 months,” he said.

“We are living in a dream world if we think it’s over.”

And it’s not just the virus itself that is an issue.

New research has revealed more than 90 per cent of Victorians at high risk of contracting coronavirus avoid getting tested when they have symptoms due to the shame and stigma around contracting COVID-19.

Professor Crabb said it’s been the biggest gap in Australia’s efforts to stop the spread of the virus.

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