The head of infectious disease at Bendigo Health is urging Central Victorians to hurry and get a third COVID-19 vaccination as Australia grapples with the new Omicron variant of the virus.
Key points:
- People due for boosters over the Christmas and New Year period are able to get the third dose days early under recent advice from ATAGI
- 15,000 Central Victorians are eligible for the third dose of a COVID-19 vaccine
- New cases are confirmed in the Castlemaine North Primary School and Lockington Consolidated School
The time between the second and third vaccinations was last week reduced to five months from six after advice from the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI).
Yesterday, a spokesperson for the federal Department of Health told ABC Central Victoria that ATAGI recommended that those eligible for a booster during December and New Year holiday period could receive it earlier than five months.
The spokesperson said ATAGI had not changed their advice from last week, but the flexibility would "ensure timely provision of boosters" over the holiday period.
Dr Andrew Mahony, an infectious disease physician at Bendigo Health, said there were already thousands of people in Central Victoria eligible to get their third dose of a vaccine.
"We've got capacity at the clinic this week. It's obviously a busy week for a lot of people for a lot of reasons.
"We've given out thousand in boosters already but there are a large number of people who are eligible right now."
Greater Bendigo recorded two new COVID-19 cases on Monday, with active case numbers slightly down from the day before, sitting at 76.
Elsewhere in Central Victoria, four new cases were recorded in Mount Alexander with 70 active cases in the local government area and Campaspe with six new cases, bringing the total number of active cases there to 57.
The regions' high number of active cases are linked to the Castlemaine North Primary School which has the largest cluster in the state with 49 active coronavirus cases.
A cluster linked to Lockington Consolidated School in the Campaspe Shire has 33 active cases which means some families across the school communities are now looking at spending Christmas in quarantine.
The number of Omicron cases in Victoria reached 37 after 13 new cases were added on Monday.
The Victorian Department of Health said 23 of those Omicron cases got their infection overseas and 14 acquired their infection in Australia.
A spokesperson for the federal Department of Health said ATAGI continued to monitor the emerging evidence on the safety and efficacy of boosters alongside the epidemiological situation of Omicron and Delta outbreaks.
Bendigo Health said people over the age of 18 could book their third dose of the vaccination online or walk-in to its Mollison Street clinic.
It is recommending the Pfizer vaccine for the third dose.
"They don't necessarily want to have a painful arm or aches and pains or a fever when they've got a Christmas gathering, so there is a little bit of that hesitancy that is coming through from people who have had two doses, and that is understandable," Dr Mahony said.
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Infectious disease physician urges Central Victorians to get third shot as local clusters grow - ABC News
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