Oct 28, 2021

Is it OK to mix vaccines for your booster shot – and when do you need one?

Elderly woman booster shot

Victorian aged care residents have already started to get their booster shots, after the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation recommended them as a high-priority group.

Aged care residents and people with disabilities will be prioritised in the booster rollout. 

Frontline workers at increased risk of catching the virus, including healthcare staff, have also been recommended for the third jab.

All booster shots will be Pfizer, regardless of the person’s original vaccines.

Most aged care residents received the Pfizer or AstraZeneca vaccine, while the majority of aged care workers received AstraZeneca. 

Infectious diseases expert Professor Robert Booy said having the Pfizer vaccine after two doses of AstraZeneca is “perfectly safe” and “very effective”.

Professor Booy said anyone who received their second dose more than six months ago can get their booster shot.

“If you’ve completed your second dose more than six months ago you’re going to be in line before Christmas to get the booster,” he said. 

Professor Booy believes booster jabs should be compulsory for aged care workers.

Health Minister Greg Hunt said there are enough vaccines in Australia to vaccinate everybody as their six-month milestone passes.

ATAGI has promised to review recommending Pfizer boosters for the broader adult population in January 2022.

The group will also make a recommendation on the Moderna vaccine “in due course”, according to a report in The Sydney Morning Herald. However, Moderna has not applied for its vaccine to be used as a booster.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Half Earle Haven residents restrained before closure

  A report on Earle Haven nursing home, compiled only a month before the nursing home shut down in dramatic circumstances, revealed 71 per cent of residents were taking psychotropic medication and 50 per cent were being physically restrained. Chemical restraint use “very high” An assessment report on Earle Haven compiled in late June 2019... Read More

Indigenous advocate, SA’s first Aboriginal nurse Dr Lowitja O’Donoghue dies

Esteemed Indigenous rights activist and the first Aboriginal person to train as a nurse at South Australia’s Royal Adelaide Hospital, Doctor Lowitja O’Donoghue, has died aged 91. Read More

Rural aged care nurses miss out in plan to erase education debts

New legislation to help erase Higher Education Loan Program (HELP) debts for doctors and nurses who take up regional and remote work has been introduced, but the aged care sector will miss out on any benefits. Read More
Advertisement