Three jabs needed to be ‘up to date’

Australians should have a Covid-19 booster shot to be ­considered ‘up to date’ on their vaccine status, government ­advisers say.

ATAGI recommended that having had three doses brings a person ‘up to date’ rather than being fully vaccinated.

Australians should have a Covid-19 booster shot to be ­considered “up to date” on their vaccine status, government ­advisers say.

However, the advice from the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation will not affect international travellers, who will still be required to have had only two doses to enter Australia from February 21.

The peak expert body gave its advice to national cabinet on Thursday to provide clarity about what “fully vaccinated” means.

However, ATAGI recommended that having had three doses brings a person “up to date” rather than being fully vaccinated.

It is understood the wording was used because it is still unclear if future doses of a Covid-19 vaccine will be required.

Health Minister Greg Hunt said ATAGI recommended “everyone aged 16 years and older receive a booster dose three months after their primary course to maintain the best protection and an up-to-date’ status”.

“Further, ATAGI has advised that if it has been longer than six months since a person’s primary course and they haven’t had a booster, they will no longer be considered ‘up to date’ and ­instead will be considered ‘overdue’,” Mr Hunt said.

“People under 16 years of age will continue to be considered ‘up to date’ after completing their primary course of vaccination, while severely immunocompromised people aged five years and older require a third primary dose to ­remain up to date.”

Mr Hunt said the advice was provided “for the management of the Covid-19 pandemic here in Australia” and would not cover vaccination requirements relating to international travellers

It follows Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews putting himself at odds with the commonwealth’s position and announcing international travellers would need to be triple-vaccinated to “move freely” around the state. Mr Andrews backed down on that plan on Thursday.

Tourism and Transport Forum chief executive Margy Osmond called for consistency. “We would urge state premiers to work together to make a uniform decision on what would constitute as fully vaccinated and make that clear to travellers,” she said.

Tourism Minister Dan Tehan this week also called for uniform­ity between jurisdictions, warning inconsistencies would deter travellers. “When international tourists come to Australia … they want to see as much of our amazing country as possible, which means they plan multiple stops across more than one state or territory,” he said on Tuesday.

“The best way to support our tourism recovery is to make travelling in Australia as easy as possible for visitors. That means removing barriers to travel and cutting red tape.”

Queensland, NSW and Victoria also agreed to begin planning on a restart for the cruising industry, after The Australian reported this week on calls to put cruising on the national cabinet agenda.

Ms Osmond said the move was “incredibly encouraging”.