- Federal officials are planning to roll out COVID-19 booster shots in the near future to prevent a resurgence in cases as Australia’s east coast starts to reopen
- Infections had been predominantly stamped out earlier this year, but the commonwealth is now aiming to live with COVID-19 through higher vaccination rates
- So far, the rate of double-dose vaccinations among Australian adults is just under 75 per cent
- The booster shot will be made available six months after the second dose, with health workers to be included in the initial phase
Officials are planning to roll out COVID-19 booster shots in the near future to prevent a resurgence in cases, as Sydney and Melbourne open up after months of restrictions.
So far, the rate of double-dose vaccinations among Australian adults is just under 75 per cent, and almost 87 per cent of those aged over 16 have had one shot since the national rollout began in February.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has previously said the country “has to move forward” with the national plan, meaning lockdown measures will be progressively done away with.
“We will live with this virus, like we live with other infectious diseases,” the PM said in August, acknowledging “there will be risks.”
Advice from Australia’s immunisation advisory groups “is imminent,” Lieutenant General John Frewen, head of the vaccination taskforce, told the ABC on Monday.
Health workers, he added — including staff and residents in aged care and disability centres — will be offered the booster doses in the initial phase.
“We think what is going to happen is that a booster shot will be made available from six months from your second dose,” Lieutenant Frewen said.
Amid a surge in vaccinations, Victoria reported 1461 new cases on Monday — the lowest daily rise in almost three weeks. The number of cases in New South Wales, meanwhile, dropped for the fourth consecutive day to 294.
Officials in Victoria are looking to ease more restrictions on gathering and movement from Friday, just a week after Melbourne exited its sixth lockdown.
Double-dose vaccination rates in the state are expected to top 80 per cent by then, meaning masks will not be mandatory outdoors and people will be free to travel throughout Victoria.
That rate is closer to 85 per cent in New South Wales, and is expected to hit 90 per cent next week. The next set of restrictions will be eased on December 1, when lockdown rules will lift for the unvaccinated, according to the state’s reopening plan.