Advertiser reader survey: When should the Covid booster shot be made available?

As Covid case numbers rise, talk has turned to the timing of the nation’s vaccine booster program. Vote in our poll on when the third jab should be made available, and other Covid questions.

Premier Steven Marshall’s push to fast-track the Covid-19 booster shot gap by one month has stalled, after Prime Minister Scott Morrison said more expert medical advice was needed.

On a record day of 198 new Covid cases in South Australia, Mr Marshall on Wednesday threw his support behind a plan to allow fully vaccinated people to access the booster at four months after their second jab. Currently, they are not eligible until five months later.

Premier Steven Marshall threw his support behind a plan to allow fully vaccinated people to access the booster at four months. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Brenton Edwards

But despite Mr Marshall advocating “very strongly”, that plan is on hold after Mr Morrison said the decision would be made based on advice from the Australia Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI).

“There’s been plenty of discussion about whether the interval should be five months, four months, three months,” he said after an emergency national cabinet meeting.

“That will be a decision for the vaccination experts at ATAGI, that is not a decision for myself as Prime Minister, or the premiers and chief ministers.

“The interval will be what the immunisation experts advise.”

Responding on Thursday, Mr Marshall said he supported the course of action.

“I think this is reasonable because there is now a school of thought that we need to do this is a very very prioritised way and it might be with Omicron that the priority changes in terms of that booster program,” he said.

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