Vulnerable and older members of the Ballarat community will soon be able to get a fourth COVID-19 vaccine dose.
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The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) has recommended a second booster be administered for Australians over 65, Indigenous Australians over 50, those in disability care and those who are immunocompromised over the age of 16.
The doses will be rolled out to those groups from April 4 at pharmacies, GPs and vaccine clinics.
Grampians Health vaccine program manager Lisa Oro said the second boosters were on track to be delivered from the available date.
"We have already commenced the fourth dose/winter dose planning across the region, and are well on target to commence from April fourth," she said.
UFS Medical chief executive Lynne McLennan confirmed UFS was also ready to deliver Ballarat second booster vaccinations.
"We expect to be able to deliver the fourth dose at our UFS COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic and in our UFS pharmacies once the roll out commences," she said.
The ATAGI advice was given ahead of a winter which is expected to bring with it a spike in COVID-19 cases alongside a rise in flu infections.
Ms McLennan urged people to keep up to date with their vaccinations.
"It's worth noting there are still a huge number of local people who haven't yet had their third dose," she said.
"The new Omicron variant of COVID is spreading rapidly, so protect yourself with the third dose ASAP - even if you do catch COVID, your symptoms will be much milder."
The ATAGI advice recommends the second booster be given to the recommended groups between four and six months after the first booster.
ATAGI said the fourth dose could also be administered four months after a COVID-19 infection, if the infection happened after a person received their first booster.
The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines will be recommended for booster doses, but non-mRNA vaccines such as AstraZeneca and Novavax will also be recommended for a fourth shot, should people prefer those options.
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