COVID-19 will continue to place significant pressure on Queensland's health system in 2023 with more waves predicted throughout the year, the state's Chief Health Officer John Gerrard says.
As Queensland's fourth Omicron wave recedes, Dr Gerrard said it was impossible to know whether the virus would eventually become seasonal, like the flu.
"What exactly happens with the pandemic now, nobody knows for certain," he said.
"Our general hope is that these waves will continue to become less severe and hopefully less frequent, and ultimately [the virus] becomes seasonal. This is very much a critical phase of the pandemic."
Dr Gerrard conceded it may "take several years" before the virus entered a more predictable seasonal pattern, if at all.
Queensland's COVID-19 traffic light system has now been downgraded to green from amber.
What's changed with COVID-19 protocols?
Under the amber protocols, masks were recommended in health settings, on public transport and indoors settings where social distancing was impossible.
Switching to green means the mask recommendations have lifted, but they may still be requested in some health care settings and in aged care.
Dr Gerrard said Queensland's fourth Omicron wave peaked in the week before Christmas with 599 people in hospital, including 10 people on ventilators in intensive care.
He said COVID-19 hospitalisations had dropped to 318 this week across the public and private sectors.
"There are no longer any patients on life support in our intensive care units in Queensland as this wave recedes," Dr Gerrard said.
The infectious disease physician said the numbers of infections and admissions to hospital with COVID-19 "dwarfs what we see with influenza" and would continue to be an issue for the public health system in 2023.
How will we manage COVID-19 from here on?
Moving forward, he said the international and Australian strategies regarding COVID-19 vaccination, in terms of further boosters, was yet to be determined.
"We know that immunity wears off significantly after six months," Dr Gerrard said.
"This is a particular problem in older people over the age of 70. It may not be such a problem in the younger population, but it does become a significant problem in the older population.
"It is likely, I would think, that there will at least be an annual vaccine for COVID-19 but that is yet to be determined."
Asked about the impact of Long COVID on Queenslanders, Dr Gerrard said unpublished research suggested the numbers here "are simply not as big as elsewhere".
"We don't seem to have seen the severe effects of Long COVID that have been reported in other countries," he said.
"We believe this is because we've had Omicron and in a largely fully vaccinated population.
"I'm not saying it's not a problem. It is. But fortunately, because the virus was introduced in Queensland after most of the population was vaccinated, Long COVID is nothing like the illness described in the UK or the US, for example."
'It is still possible to get COVID'
Dr Gerrard urged Queenslanders to continue to register positive COVID-19 tests through the Queensland Health website and to stay home when unwell.
"The data we get from those reports is invaluable in tracking this pandemic," he said.
"It is still possible to get COVID even though we are not currently in the wave."
Mater Hospital director of infectious diseases Paul Griffin said Queenslanders could not be complacent.
"I think it's clear we're on the other side of the peak. Our hospitalisations are declining," Dr Griffin said.
"Personally, I think it's a little too soon to downgrade us because we still have a lot of people in hospital, lots of COVID around and I think even another week or so of being in that slightly higher level where people are a bit more inclined hopefully to wear masks could only be a good thing.
"The main thing people need to understand is downgrading to green doesn't mean that's where we're going to stay.
"I suspect that at some point we'll have to go back up to orange."
