WHAT JUST HAPPENED?Health Minister Greg Hunt just announced the recommended timing of the Covid-19 booster shot has been brought forward from five months to four months from January 4, 2022, and as soon as practical, for it to be brought forward to three months from January 31, 2022.Initially the recommended time frame for a booster shot was six months after the second dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, but this got changed to five months less than a fortnight ago. Mr Hunt said two million Australians have already received a booster shot.WHO IS ELIGIBLE?ATAGI has said its advice is that booster doses only be given to people aged 18 years and over.WHY IS IT HAPPENING?In an explanatory statement, the members of ATAGI, the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation, said the course of the pandemic had “significantly changed” in recent weeks because of the arrival of the Omicron variant.“Internationally, the Omicron variant has become dominant in several countries with case numbers growing rapidly. Preliminary data from large superspreading events in New South Wales involving younger people suggested that two doses of vaccine did not provide any significant protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection due to the Omicron variant,” the ATAGI statement said.NED-5151-Covid-19-booster-shots-graphicWHAT IS THE PROBLEM WITH TWO DOSES ALONE?Studies from South Africa and the UK showed fully vaccinated people were still susceptible to infection from the Omicron variant, but the vaccines did diminish their chances of getting very sick or ending up in hospital. Researchers from London’s Imperial College found people with Omicron were 15 per cent less likely to attend hospital, and 40 per cent less likely to be hospitalised for a night or more, compared to the Delta variant.WHAT ABOUT IMMUNOCOMPROMISED PEOPLE?ATAGI has also updated its advice for immunocompromised people, many of whom have already had a third dose of Covid-19 vaccine. Those who have had three doses should now get a booster shot four months after their latest dose – and “when practical”, this should be within three months.SHOULD I REBOOK RIGHT NOW IF I AM BOOKED IN?Coming on Christmas Eve, the booster rule change has not come at an ideal time. In its statement, ATAGI said the new booster regime “could be achievable from 4 January, although some providers may have flexibility to administer before that time”.NSW Health said those who had been due for a booster over the Christmas/New Year period should “have it a little earlier”.Rebooking will likely not be easy, with some GPs and pharmacies booked out for immunisation and booster appointments for weeks.But ATAGI has also stressed a booster is “particularly important” for at-risk groups, including people at high risk of occupational exposure, those aged over 60, people with underlying medical conditions, people working in aged/disability care and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.WHAT BOOSTER SHOT SHOULD I GET?Both Comirnaty (Pfizer) or Spikevax (Moderna- 50µg) are recommended for use as a booster vaccine, and both are considered equally acceptable. AstraZeneca can be used for people who have contraindications to the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. WHERE CAN I GET MY BOOSTER?Search our table below for places where you can get vaccinations. NED-5204-Where-to-get-a-vaccine-booster-jabsDOES AUSTRALIA HAVE ENOUGH SUPPLY?Mr Hunt and Chief Medical Officer Professor Paul Kelly said in a statement: “Australia has more than enough supply of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to roll out booster doses to the newly eligible cohort from 4 January – through more than 10,000 vaccination sites including GPs, community pharmacies, Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services, and state and territory clinics. There are currently over 20 million doses in Australia of which over five million have already been placed with States and Primary Care teams on the basis of their forward orders.Where jurisdictions believe they have sufficient capacity to bring forward the commencement of delivery of booster doses sooner, without displacing people with higher priority eligibility in accordance with the ATAGI recommendations, they will have the flexibility to do so.”WHAT ABOUT KIDS? Arrangements are in place to rolL out vaccines to children aged five to 11 years from January 10, 2022, with specialised children’s doses arriving in Australia over recent days and now undergoing batch testing by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA).
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