BALLARAT will be booster-ready when the state-run COVID-19 vaccination hub returns to action with a new wave of people rolling up their sleeves again.
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Grampians Public Health Unit operations director Robyn Wilson confirmed jab teams across the region had been planning for a likely change in booster intervals early in the New Year.
Boosters were officially shortened to a four-month interval from January 4 in an announcement from Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt and Australia's chief medical officer Paul Kelly on Christmas Eve. This came right when the Ballarat Health Services-led vaccination centre was preparing to break until after the New Year's public holiday.
The community vaccination clinic at the Mercure will re-open next Tuesday, less than a week before Pfizer jabs will start to roll-out for children aged five to 11.
We have been working toward this anticipated change with the knowledge that bringing booster doses forward is our best defence against Omicron.
- Robyn Wilson, Grampians Public Health Unit
"We have been working toward this anticipated change with the knowledge that bringing booster doses forward is our best defence against Omicron, the new variant of COVID-19," Ms Wilson said.
"The GPHU encourages the community to walk in or book an appointment for their booster dose as soon as they are able."
There will be little reprieve for vaccination staff with the interval between full vaccination and boosters cut again to three months by the end of next month.
Almost 500,000 Victorians were overdue for a vaccine booster before Christmas, out of more than 750,000 who had reached eligibility five months after their second dose, according to the state health department.
See where to get your COVID-19 vaccine in Ballarat below:
The Courier understands the city's major vaccination providers, BHS and UFS, were delivering boosters to people who were more than four months, but less than five months, from their second COVID-19 jab before Christmas in a bid to boost protection for the holiday season.
COVID-19's presence has remained firm in the community with a combined 26 new cases recorded in Ballarat the past two days, taking the city's active infections to 87 people. Health officials are yet to confirm whether the Omicron strain has arrived in Ballarat, but have said this was highly likely.
The UFS vaccination clinic re-opens with limited hours on Sunday and Monday. People are also urged to check for boosters at participating pharmacies.
Anyone seeking a booster dose must show proof of date for the their second COVID-19 jab, which features on digital and paper COVID-19 vaccination certificates.
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