COVID-19 Alert 30 October 2021- COVID-19 Vaccine Boosters

COVID-19 Vaccine Boosters

On 28 October 2021, the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) recommended a booster dose of COVID-19 vaccine.

You are eligible for a COVID-19 booster dose if:

• you are 18 years and older, and
• have had the second dose of your primary dose course of COVID-19 vaccination at least 6 months ago.

As of 30 October 2021, those who are eligible can book appointments for booster doses of COVID-19 vaccine in Victoria.

Booster doses are not mandatory; however, they are recommended to maintain immunity against COVID-19.

A booster dose increases your protection against:

• infection with the virus that causes COVID-19
• severe disease or death

A booster dose will continue to protect you, your loved ones and the community against COVID-19.

Vaccine types for booster doses

The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine is approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) and recommended by ATAGI as a COVID-19 booster dose.

You can have the Pfizer vaccine as a booster dose regardless of which vaccine you had for your first 2 doses.

You can also receive the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine if you:

• can’t have the Pfizer vaccine for medical reasons
• had 2 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine previously.

You can read ATAGI’s advice on the type of vaccine recommended for booster doses.

How to book

Booster vaccinations are now available at all Monash Health vaccination centres and pop-up clinics.

Bookings are available from today and can be made by calling the Victorian Coronavirus Booking Hotline on 1800 675 398, 7 days a week, 8am to 8pm. Online bookings for booster doses are not yet available.

There are also limited walk-in appointments available this weekend, 30 – 31 October, at the following sites:

• Sandown Racecourse Vaccination Centre (recommended)
• Cranbourne Turf Club Vaccination Centre

• Bunjil Place Pop-up Clinic in Narre Warren
• Dandenong Palm Plaza Pop-up Clinic

Please note there is limited walk-in availability, and lines may close early due to demand.

In addition, there are a very limited number of booster appointments available at Clinic D, Monash Medical Centre. To book at Clinic D, please call our COVID-19 Vaccination Hotline on (03) 8572 2156. The Hotline is open Monday to Friday (8am to 6pm) and Saturday to Sunday (9am to 4pm). Please note that call wait times may be longer than usual.

To ensure we have adequate capacity to vaccinate Monash Health employees and contractors at Clinic D, we have temporarily paused bookings for household members of employees at Clinic D. We apologise for any inconvenience and encourage you to make arrangements to attend one of our other sites.

For more information about COVID-19 vaccine boosters, please visit our COVID-19 Vaccine Boosters webpage.

Andrew Stripp
Chief Executive