Linda Fisher and her husband Ken are members of Generation AZ: the group of those aged 60+ who lined up for an AstraZeneca vaccine, the only one available to their age group for some time.
immunity wanesThe three-month delay between jab one and two means the Fishers weren't double vaccinated until the beginning of November. Not yet eligible for a booster, they are concerned about whether or not to go ahead with plans to travel to Melbourne in January.
Epidemiologist Tony Blakley from the University of Melbourne has joined growing calls to shorten the time frame between the second COVID vaccine and the booster. But yesterday Prime Minister Scott Morrison didn't budge on the five-month gap — which was recently reduced from six months — after meeting with National Cabinet.
Yet protection against hospitalisation did not fall so sharply, maintaining 77 per cent effectiveness after 20 weeks and almost 79 per cent effectiveness against death.Hassan Vally, an epidemiologist at Deakin University who began his career as an immunologist, acknowledges Omicron has generated a lot of fear in the community.
With the rest of her family in Victoria, the plan was to finally have a chance to commemorate the family patriarch with relatives and friends in Melbourne where her dad spent most of his life.
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