Australian citizens over 30 years of age will be recommended a fourth dose of COVID vaccine in the coming week, as the health authorities are preparing to face a winter wave of case surge because of the Omicron variant.

Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) is highly advising an additional booster shot for people above 50. Although, the federal government is still requesting millions of eligible Australians who have not yet been jabbed with a third dose to come forward and get it done.

ATAGI has also asked people to use face mask, cautioning that more vaccination program is the only way to avoid hospital admissions and reduce the case numbers.

While commenting on the situation, Mark Butler, the federal health minister, said that Australia at present is standing at an early stage of a third Omicron wave, and the government is fully committed to making sure that more citizens in the country are protected against the virus with the COVID vaccine.

Two vaccine doses are not enough to be safe against this hazardous disease, the minister added.

The news on the latest recommendation of ATAGI was reported recently but was authorized after Butler acknowledged the advisory board’s call.

Earlier, 4 vaccines were available for people over 65, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people above 50, or people suffering from serious health or immune conditions.

The eligibility was broadened to anyone above 30 from the 11th of July.

The recommendation of ATAGI highly supports the fourth dose for people over 50 and extends eligibility to those between 30-49, further notifying that this will provide less benefit to this age group.

ATAGI further said that the interval suggested between the first booster dose or recent Sars-CoV-2 infection and a winter booster dose had been reduced to three months.

Additionally, as per the revised recommendation, around 7.4 million Australian are now eligible for an extra dose.

Source Credit – https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/jul/07/australians-over-30-to-be-offered-fourth-dose-of-covid-vaccine