Canberra: Australian health authorities recommended against getting a fifth COVID-19 vaccine shot as the average daily cases had been 47% higher than last week.
In a press conference, Health Minister Mark Butler said that said the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisations (ATAGI) had recommended against a fifth dose, or third booster, after evidence from Singapore’s recent wave showed that severe illness and death were rare among the vaccinated and that a fifth shot had minimal impact on virus transmission.
“ATAGI has considered international evidence as well as the local data around vaccination numbers, as well as case numbers in the pandemic and decided not to recommend a fifth dose,” said Butler.
“They noted that severe disease and death during that wave in Singapore was very rare for people who had had at least two doses of vaccine for COVID.”
New booster recommendations will be made early next year ahead of the southern-hemisphere winter, as per reports.
Butler also accepted ATAGI recommendations that Pfizer’s Omicron-specific vaccine be approved as a booster dose for adults; 4.7 million doses will arrive ahead of a rollout due to begin on Dec 12.
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