Government announces shortened booster window
The federal government has announced that the timeframe between the second COVID-19 vaccine and the booster shot has been shortened, from five months to four. The change will come into effect on January 4.
This is an additional reduction, following an initial interval of six months in between shots. Furthermore, on January 31, the gap between shots will be reduced to just three months.
These changes will enable millions of Australians to receive their booster shots, which are increasingly being seen as necessary to resist the Omicron strain and maintain immunity amidst rising cases across the country, far sooner.
This includes over 60s, many of whom were not fully vaccinated until late in the year due to eligibility criteria. Tony Blakeley, an epidemiologist from the University of Melbourne, described the five-month gap between the second and third shots as “bordering on unethical”, particularly for older Australians who received the AstraZeneca vaccine.
“AstraZeneca recipients are often 60-plus, they're often more vulnerable, yet they had a vaccine where they had to wait three months between the first and second dose and now they're not eligible,” he explained.
The change follows advice from expert vaccination group ATAGI and is in response to the recent spike in cases as the Omicron variant spreads throughout the community. On Friday, Victoria recorded 2095 new cases and eight deaths, while NSW recorded 5612 and one death.
Health Minister Greg Hunt explained that cutting the interval down would ensure roughly 7.5 million Australians would be eligible to receive a booster shot by early January, whereas as of Friday, only 3.2 million were eligible.
Once the interval is reduced further at the end of January, about 16 million Australians will be eligible to receive their third vaccine. In a press conference on Friday, Mr Hunt said, “These dates have been set out of an abundance of caution to give Australians early continued protection.”
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