Vulnerable Australians, including people aged 65 and older and those with severely compromised immune systems, will be eligible for a second COVID-19 booster under an expanded federal program beginning Monday.
Australia’s immunisation advisory body has recommended a second “winter dose” for some cohorts.
Over-65s, Indigenous people aged 50 and older, people aged 16 and older with severely compromised immune systems, and aged and disability residents will be eligible if they received their first booster at least four months prior.
The vaccines will be dispensed through state and Commonwealth clinics, GPs, pharmacies and Indigenous medical clinics. People can get their flu shot at the same time.
The federal government has also decided not to renew a raft of pandemic measures, under the Biosecurity Act, due to expire on April 17. They have been rolled over since the start of the pandemic.
“I will lose the plenary powers which are quite extraordinary and I’m very happy to do that. This is about normalising Australia,” Health Minister Greg Hunt told reporters from the Gold Coast.
“Two years and one month to the day after those laws will have been put in place, there will be no emergency powers. There will be no pre-flight testing. We will no longer need the price gouging rules in relation to rapid antigen tests.”
But double-vaccination requirements for people arriving in or leaving the country will continue, as will face masks on domestic and international flights.
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