When are you meant to get the Covid booster vaccine? Health Minister explains

When SHOULD you get your booster after catching Covid? Officials reveal how long infected Aussies should wait before getting jabbed

  • NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard said he’s frustrated by lack of booster shots
  • Mr Hazzard said just 40 per cent of the eligible population had received the jab
  • He believes confusion over different booster waiting periods is the reason for lag
  • NSW Health Deputy Secretary Susan Pearce blamed belief Omicron is ‘mild’


Australians who have had Covid over summer are being urged to get a booster vaccine within weeks of their recovery.

NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard is frustrated that just 40 per cent of the eligible population in the state have had the booster shot, despite plentiful supplies.

He’s blaming mixed messaging for the slow take-up.

‘The booster is what will slow the transmission, but also reduce the likelihood of the severe illness, so for everybody who is eligible, please go and get the booster as quickly as possible,’ Mr Hazzard told ABC TV on Friday.

NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard (above) said he is frustrated that just 40 per cent of the eligible population in the state have had the booster shot, despite supply being plentiful

Many people are confused about when they can have the booster after contracting Covid, he said.

‘It is a very clear message now: four to six weeks after you’ve had Covid, you can have the booster,’ he said.

People who have not contracted Covid should have their booster shot three months after their second jab, he said.

‘So do it. It keeps yourself safe, your family safe, the community safe,’ he said.

He admitted he would like national cabinet to decide that three doses of the vaccine were required to be considered fully vaccinated in Australia.

Mr Hazzard said confusion over booster time periods was to blame while NSW Health Deputy Secretary Susan Pearce said a belief that Omicron is a ‘mild’ illness could be the reason

‘Yes. Yes, I would.’

About 100,000 vaccine doses had been available in NSW and not been taken up in recent weeks.

Only a handful of people had turned up at some vaccine hubs, creating a ‘ridiculous’ situation where health staff were stationed at empty hubs, unable to help sick people elsewhere, he said on Thursday.

NSW Health Deputy Secretary Susan Pearce said vaccination bookings went begging at state-run clinics last week, suggesting ‘a perception in the community that Omicron is milder’ was to blame.

About 100,000 vaccine doses had been available in NSW and not been taken up in recent weeks despite high case numbers due to the Omicron outbreak

About 100,000 vaccine doses had been available in NSW and not been taken up in recent weeks despite high case numbers due to the Omicron outbreak

In October 28, some 5,676,972 of the state’s residents aged over 16 had received their second dose, about 86.4 per cent of the population.

Most of them are eligible to receive a booster shot, with the exception of under 18s and those who have contracted the virus within the last four to six weeks.

Just 36.2 per cent of people over 18 had their booster dose as of Tuesday, according to data from NSW Health.

NSW has recorded 881,331 cases in the last four weeks and 947,251 in the past six weeks.

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