Aussies slow on 4th jab

NSW is leading the way on the national rollout of a winter Covid booster and is the first state to pass one million people who have received a fourth dose.

Almost four million Australians aged 16 and over (3,935,669) have had four doses of the Covid vaccine, according to data released by the Australian government’s Operation Covid Shield.

Of these, 1,266,896 are from NSW, followed by Victoria (965,311), Queensland (773,287), Western Australia (394,671), South Australia (314,568), Tasmania (105,596), ACT (77,996) and Northern Territory (17,417).

Nationally, 78.5 per cent of eligible aged-care residents have received four or more doses (103,896 of 132,407), the data shows.

General practitioners remain the leading primary care vaccine administration site (5691), followed by pharmacies (3617), Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services (178) and Commonwealth Vaccination Clinics (123).

Minority groups remain under-represented in the data on Australians who have had four doses of the Covid vaccine.

Just 25 per cent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples who are eligible for a fourth dose have had one.

National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) participants also have some catching up to do – 26 per cent of eligible people aged 16 or over have had a fourth dose.

Last month, the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) updated its recommendations for a winter dose of Covid vaccine to help reduce severe disease from the emerging surge of Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 subvariant infections, and to reduce the burden on Australian hospitals and the healthcare system in coming months.

The updated recommendations are:

•Adults aged 50-64 years are now recommended to receive a winter booster dose of a Covid-19 vaccine.

•Adults aged 30-49 years can receive a winter booster dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, however, the benefit for people in this age group is less certain.

•The interval recommended between a recent SARS-CoV-2 infection or the first booster dose and a winter booster dose is now 3 months.

“ATAGI emphasises that people previously eligible for a winter booster dose remain at higher risk of severe disease and death from Covid-19 and should receive a winter booster dose as soon as possible,” the group said in a statement.

“ATAGI emphasises that individuals who have previously been infected with SARS-CoV-2, irrespective of which variant it may have been, should continue to receive recommended vaccine doses, after an interval of 3 months, as prior infection alone will not provide sufficient protection against severe disease,” the group’s statement said.