Where, when to get third vax shot

THE booster dose of the Covid vaccine provides added protection for people who completed their two-dose primary course more than five months ago.

It is recommended because over time health experts say immunity can drop to as low as about 65 per cent. After a third dose, it is back to 95 per cent efficacy.

Third doses are for severely immunocompromised people as part of a third-dose primary course and are suggested between two to six months.

However, you are still considered fully vaccinated by law if you had two doses of a Covid vaccine, even if the second dose was more than five months ago.

Anyone 18 and over is eligible, but it’s considered important for people at greater risk of getting very sick from Covid. This includes those aged 50 and older, people with underlying medical conditions and those in aged care and disability accommodation.

It’s also suggested for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and those at greater risk of Covid because of their work, such as healthcare workers, police and airline staff.

To book a booster dose, you can visit any respiratory clinic, GP clinic, pharmacy of staterun clinic that offers Covid vaccines. You do not need to return to where you got your primary dose. To find out the date of your second dose, check your digital Covid certificate or immunisation history statement.

The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are recommended boosters, regardless of which vaccine you had originally. Common, mild side-effects following a booster dose are similar to the side-effects following the first two doses.

Queensland Health says serious side-effects, such as myocarditis and pericarditis, following a Pfizer or Moderna booster dose are rare.

Booster details will be automatically uploaded to immunisation history statements, with certificates updated to show the final two doses.