Professor Brendan Crabb AC, Director and CEO of the Burnet Institute, speaks directly and in-depth about the scientific reality of COVID-19 for everyone in Australia right now. Now in our fourth wave this year and with cases in the past week estimated at between 500,000 to 1 million (5 to 10 times the reported cases), what are the consequences of the unmitigated spread of COVID-19? What makes COVID truly exceptional? How do we stop transmission, and what are the risks of repeated infection?

With a federal inquiry into Long COVID underway, Brendan explains the most up to date scientific thinking behind the causes and effects of Long COVID and what patients need the most – to be believed and understood. As COVID is not just a respiratory condition, but an "inflammatory disease of your blood vessels," Brendan explains what kinds of post-COVID complications are possible for some, like stroke, diabetes, pulmonary embolism (PE), and heart attack. All this and more is discussed in a nuanced and wide-ranging interview.

Read the Burnet Institute's submission to the federal Inquiry Into Long COVID and Repeated Infections [PDF].