An additional 7.4 million Australians will be entitled to receive another COVID-19 booster from next week after the Federal Government accepted recommendations from the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) to expand the eligibility for a fourth shot to over 30s.
The updated guidance follows an increase in the number of people falling ill from respiratory virus infections, including COVID-19, over the past few months, placing an increased strain on the Australian healthcare system, particularly hospitals.
A contributing factor to the upsurge of COVID-19 cases comes from the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants, which ATAGI says can partly escape the immune response generated by both prior vaccination and infection, with numbers expected to worsen over the coming months.
