SA police commissioner Grant Stevens with blunt message to those not boosted
Police commissioner Grant Stevens has begged more than 410,000 South Australians to go get their booster shot.
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More than 410,000 South Australians who are eligible for their Covid-19 booster shot are yet to roll up their sleeves, despite the state having ample vaccine stocks and available jab appointments.
Police Commissioner Grant Stevens is pleading with the community to “do better” and get their third dose as soon as possible, saying it is vital to improve protection rates and increase authorities’ ability to ease restrictions.
“We’ve created significant capacity for people to roll up and get the booster,” Mr Stevens, pictured, said.
“There are a lot of people out there who are taking their time to roll up and get their booster.
“The vaccination booster is one of those things that has a direct impact on managing Omicron in the community, so the more people get the third shot, the more flexibility we have in terms of moving away from restrictions.”
About 616,000 South Australians have had a booster shot, as of February 3, but about 1.02 million people are eligible for a third dose.
SA had 293,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine in stock as of last Friday, as well as nearly 38,000 doses of the Moderna jab and 45,000 doses of Pfizer suitable for children.
Mr Stevens contracted Covid-19 in January and credited his mild systems to having a booster shot himself.
He said SA’s booster rollout was “doing well in comparison to other Australian jurisdictions”, despite the lag in eligible people getting jabbed. The state had no specific third-dose jab target, he said.
Mr Stevens has also outlined SA businesses would face simpler Covid-19 restrictions based primarily on whether they operate indoors or outdoors, once the state emerged from the Omicron crisis.
In a major rewrite of the state’s legal directions, SA Police are investigating changes that would move away from different restrictions for specific industries, such as hospitality, retail, or nightclubs.
Mr Stevens said the new streamlined rules were set to be introduced last year but were delayed when the Omicron wave hit.
“We’re developing a model that sees the lowest level of restrictions in a simple and clearly understood direction.”
Asked about a time frame for the overhaul, he said: “That’s up to Omicron.”
Mr Stevens, whose decisions are largely driven by SA Health advice and debate at the COVID-Ready Committee, is considering a new tranche of relaxed restrictions by this Friday. This could include increasing the 10-person cap at home gatherings and boosting hospitality density limits to 75 per cent.
An SA Health spokeswoman said evidence showed a third vaccine dose was required for the best protection against Omicron, and people who had a booster shot were less infectious if they caught COVID-19.
Australian Medical Association state president Dr Michelle Atchison put the slow take-up of booster shots down to public complacency.
“Many believe that the Omicron strain is a mild disease, which is not correct,” she said.
“Covid is a serious disease and you don’t want to catch it at any stage.
“But I think because the messaging out there has been, ‘Oh look, it’s mild’, people think they don’t have to get a booster.”
Meanwhile, Mr Stevens said the state’s emergency laws would be in place for some time yet as the state government enters election caretaker mode within a fortnight.
Rules state the public service does not enter into major contracts, or make “binding” decisions, for a new government.
But other functions of government remain, including the Covid-Ready Committee, which is chaired by Premier Steven Marshall.
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