Interval between booster injections reduced to four months

Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly said it had been four weeks to the day since authorities discovered the Omicron variant of COVID-19.

“In connection with [protection from] serious illness from the first two doses of the vaccine, it decreases over time, hence the change in the timing of the boosters, ”said Professor Kelly.

The chief medical officer said the boosters could help slow the transmission of the virus.

“We know that unfortunately two doses do not change this ability to be infected,” he said.

Professor Kelly said more information has come to light in the past two days about the protection offered by the boosters and the declining protection against COVID-19 vaccines.

He said the decision to stagger the interval changes was based on medical advice, as well as the need to prioritize Australians most at risk.

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It was also a matter of logistics, because with the exhaustion of the health workers, it was “just impossible to suddenly give so many” booster doses.

The Expert Advisory Group on Immunization, in a report on reducing the recall interval, said that although early data suggested that the risk of hospitalization with the Omicron variant was lower than with the Delta variant, “this difference would not be sufficient to compensate for the impact of the high number of cases on the health system “.

The statement said that the booster injections alone would not be sufficient to prevent an “increase” in Omicron, but maximizing boosters coverage in combination with improved public health and social measures “could prevent a sharp increase in the rate. number of cases, hospitalizations and deaths “.

The chief medical officer and Mr Hunt urged all Australians eligible for a booster dose to receive one as soon as possible.

University of Queensland infectious disease expert Paul Griffin said the decision to offer vaccines was “welcome news” and that with the mask on it would be a very effective intervention in the fight against Omicron..

Associate Professor Griffin said the record increase in the number of daily cases meant the need to offer a booster was urgent, and there was a case for exchanging additional time to conduct more in-depth studies and collect more data. .

Professor Allen Cheng, outgoing ATAGI co-chair wrote in Age and Sydney Morning Herald last week that there were risks in offering boostersincluding interfering with subsequent variant vaccines.

Professor Griffin said when Omicron’s prospect first spread to Australia a few weeks ago “it was the right thing to say that we should be given more consideration and maybe wait.”

“But personally, I think we’ve obviously seen it evolve to the point where we’re seeing really big numbers and big increases on a daily basis, so it makes sense to try to intervene … It makes sense to power to react and in terms of safety, we have so much data on these vaccines. “

University of South Australia professor of epidemiology Adrian Esterman said the accelerated schedule would be particularly beneficial for those who have been immunized with AstraZeneca, which offers almost no protection against omicron transmission. .

“It’s a very smart move,” said Professor Esterman

“We could have had thousands of people infected with the AstraZeneca vaccine and it just isn’t necessary.”

Professor Esterman said that if the delay was reduced again, the booster shots might lose some effectiveness.

“If you do it too short you don’t get such a good boost in your immunity, so four months is way better than five months and I think three months is probably okay,” he said.