The country’s expert vaccine advisory body is expected to recommend that anyone over the age of 50 receive a fourth dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Key points:
- ATAGI is expected to recommend people over the age of 50 who receive a fourth dose of the VOCID vaccine
- A fourth dose may also be offered to people aged 30 to 49 years
- The group was waiting to see how COVID numbers affected the winter before making the decision
But it is still unclear what guidance will be given to people aged 30 to 49, with an internal discussion about allowing a fourth dose but not specifically recommending it.
The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (ATAGI) will soon finalize and deliver its advice to the federal government.
The ABC has spoken to two sources familiar with discussions who are not allowed to speak publicly.
The expected changes follow the strong messages from politicians at the state and federal levels who have made it clear that they would support the fourth dose offered to more age groups.
Federal Health Minister Mark Butler said there was “a strong case” for Australians under the age of 65 to receive the extra booster vaccine, but said there was an “open question” about whether young people and healthy they needed it.
More information on the launch of the vaccine:
Earlier this week, NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard said he would support a general expansion of vaccine deployment, while Victorian Prime Minister Daniel Andrews urged giving fourth injections to healthcare workers. .
Under current guidelines, the fourth dose is available to people over the age of 65, caregivers for the elderly, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 50 and over, people with disabilities, immunocompromised people and anyone person over 16 with a disease that increases the risk. of COVID-19 hard.
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he had urged health experts to work quickly on COVID-19-related issues, including vaccines.
“I encouraged them, when I met with the health authorities, including the CMO, before I left a little over a week ago, I encouraged them to get things done as quickly as possible,” he said Wednesday.
“So my view is that we will inevitably follow what has happened in other parts of the world and launch a new booster injection, because we know that over time, people’s immunity decreases as the distance from when they received the last injection. “
Boosters are falling as the new wave of COVID builds up
The winter season has led to an increase in hospitalizations for COVID-19, exacerbated by Omicron’s new subvariants.
Last week, Australia came in second after France in the number of COVID cases per population among G7 nations, according to Oxford University’s Our World In Data project.
Although more than 95% of people over the age of 16 are fully vaccinated, the number of people receiving reinforcements has fallen since February.
Only 70.5% of the eligible population has received three or more doses.
About 2,413,000 people had received a fourth dose on Monday, 59 percent of whom were eligible.
“ATAGI continues to emphasize the importance of keeping up with COVID-19 vaccines by receiving the primary course and one or two doses of booster depending on eligibility,” the group said in a statement early this week.
“Booster doses provide additional protection against serious illness, hospitalization and death compared to the primary course.”
People who have recently been infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus are recommended to delay their booster vaccine for up to three months after infection.
Australian Medical Association Vice President Chris Moy said ATAGI had been waiting for the right moment to expand eligibility.
“They’ve been under pressure for a long time to go for a fourth shot for everyone, but they wanted to keep their shot,” Dr. Moy said.
“They didn’t really want to end up firing the shot too soon and then end up with a new variant and then make a decision on a fifth shot, where there was no evidence.”
Dr Moy, who is an ATAGI technical expert but not a voting member involved in the decision, said opening a fourth booster for those over 30 was unusual.
“The evidence for this group is not very high,” Dr. Moy said.
“It is more important to get this first reinforcement.
“There is no solid evidence for this, except for a transient reduction in infection and transmission [down]. “
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