The majority of Australians may not be advised to get a fourth COVID booster shot until a better, Omicron-specific vaccine is available.
The country’s top vaccine advisory group may hold off advising more Australians to get their fourth COVID shot until better, Omicron-specific vaccines are available.
Australians aged over 65, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders over 50 and Australians under 64 who are immunocompromised, are already advised to get their fourth booster shot.Australia’s vaccine advisory panel is considering delaying a recommendation that more people get a fourth COVID booster shot until a better Omicron-targeting vaccine is available.
Cheng said the expert panel had no immediate changes to the advice on fourth doses in Australia, adding three doses still appeared to provide ongoing protection against severe disease for those under the age of 65, who were otherwise healthy. Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer is also creating an updated booster, which it said would be better at fending off Omicron.
Professor Allen Cheng said Australia’s vaccine advisory group was closely watching the US, where Moderna will soon file new clinical data.This is because genetic mutations in the spike protein of subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 allow them to evade the immune system’s radar and some antibodies we might have made against other variants.
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