More than 2.1 million Australians are overdue for their COVID-19 booster, with the head of the federal vaccine rollout blaming “confusion and complacency” among people aged under 40.
Operation COVID Shield co-ordinator Lieutenant General John Frewen told a Senate estimates hearing on Wednesday that about 11 per cent of the eligible population were yet to come forward for their booster.
The government’s booster advertising campaign aimed to remind younger Australians that their social lives, businesses and fitness routines were “underpinned by the maximum possible take-up of vaccines, including boosters”, he said.
Lieutenant General Frewen said reasons for the poor uptake among under-40s included confusion and “complacency around the rollout”.
“People are no longer as fearful of Omicron as they were with previous variants,” he said.
“People have had it and have moved on and thought: ‘No big deal. Why bother getting a booster?’”
Some were still confused about when they should book in for a booster if they have recently had COVID-19, he said.
The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation recommends that people who contracted COVID-19 after receiving a primary course of vaccination should have their booster as soon as they have fully recovered, usually 4-6 weeks after infection.
Eligibility for booster vaccination includes people aged 16 years and over who received their second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine at least 3 months ago.
People who are severely immunocompromised are advised to have a third dose two to six months after the second dose to complete their primary course, with a fourth dose booster recommended three months later.
Lieutenant General Frewen defended the booster rollout despite Australia being ranked 22nd in the OECD, saying the nation “started the booster rollout a little bit later than many of the countries that are currently rated above us”.
“We think we will move up those rankings,” he said.
He said almost 90 per cent of people over 70 in residential aged care, “our most vulnerable”, had received their booster.