The nation's top doctor is urging anyone who has not had either COVID-19 booster or their flu shot to get the jabs, warning that re-infections of the virus are likely to increase in the next few months.
Australia's Chief Medical Officer, Paul Kelly, has issued a fresh plea to anyone who has not had either their COVID-19 booster or the flu shot to get the jabs, saying the "double whammy" of both illnesses is putting a strain on health systems.
"We're actually getting good uptake in those [older] age groups but, as a population-wide estimate, it's about 67 per cent of people who are eligible have had their third dose. We certainly want to be better than that," he said. "We now know that, with Omicron circulating, that a third dose is really important and so I'd really encourage, today, anyone who is eligible for a third dose to not hesitate and go and get a third dose."
Last month, Australia led the world in per-capita COVID-19 infections, with Professor Kelly telling Channel Nine the rate of infections of both the virus and the flu was a clear sign that "winter is definitely with us".