The federal government has fast-tracked COVID-19 boosters in an attempt to stave-off the new Omicron variant of the virus.
Doctor Deborah Cromer studies the spread of infectious diseases such as COVID-19 at the Kirby Institute in NSW. Dr Cromer compared the use of COVID-19 booster shots with the seasonal jabs used to protect against the flu.
“We have to think about the existing viruses that we see. Flu vaccines - we get them every year, we don't think of them as booster doses, we just think of them as the annual flu vaccine.”
G-P Dr Danielle McMullen, the New South Wales president of the Australian Medical Association, says there is a pressing need to speed up the rollout.
“We don’t want to panic the community, because we do know the first two doses still does protect you from hospitalisation for at least that five months or so. But when we look forward to next year, we know that a significant number of boosters are going to be needed.”
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