Winter COVID-19 booster doses now available
Eligible people at greatest risk of severe illness from COVID-19 can now access an additional booster dose (also referred to as a ‘winter booster dose’) of COVID-19 vaccine, following recent recommendations by ATAGI.
Those eligible to receive the additional booster dose include:
- people aged 65 years and older
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 50 years and older
- residents of aged care or disability care facilities
- people aged 16 years and older with severe immunocompromise (as defined in this ATAGI statement).
The winter booster dose can be given from four months after a person received their first booster dose or from four months after a confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection, if infection occurred after the person’s first COVID-19 booster dose.
All COVID-19 vaccines can be co-administered (given on the same day) with a flu vaccine. However, if a person is not yet eligible for their additional booster dose, the flu vaccine could be given ahead of the additional booster dose.
Read the ATAGI recommendations Review Clinical recommendations for COVID-19 vaccines
New decision tool on COVID-19 drug treatments
The National COVID-19 Clinical Evidence Taskforce (of which the RACGP is a member) has released a new decision tool on drug treatments for at risk adults with COVID-19 who do not require oxygen.
The decision tool should be used in conjunction with the recently published risk-classification tool, which was developed to guide clinicians’ decisions about which people are most likely to benefit from these drugs.
The taskforce has published updated flowcharts for managing patients with COVID-19 and drug treatments for COVID-19.
Access all living guidelines, tools and flowcharts
Communication materials for culturally and linguistically diverse communities
The Department of Health has released an updated stakeholder pack to help you communicate COVID-19 vaccine information to culturally and linguistically diverse communities.
The pack contains in-language communications resources (videos, audio files, posters, factsheets and social media assets) on:
- COVID-19 vaccine booster doses
- COVID-19 vaccines for children aged 5–11
- what to do if you get COVID-19 and where to get support
- oral treatments for COVID-19
- rapid antigen tests
- approval of the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine.
Access the pack
COVID-19 opinion piece by Chief Medical Officer available in five Indigenous languages
An opinion piece by Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Professor Michael Kid, titled ‘What to do if you, or a family member, tests positive for COVID-19’ has been published in five Indigenous languages.
Access the piece