Do people need all the recommended doses of COVID-19 vaccine ?
To receive the best protection against serious illness or death from COVID-19, you should get all the recommended doses for your age or individual health needs. Boosters are important to maintain this protection. Boosters are anticipated to address waning of protection against severe COVID-19 prior to winter.
All adults can get a booster if it’s been 6 months or longer since their last COVID-19 booster or confirmed infection (whichever is most recent) for additional protection against severe illness from COVID.
This is particularly recommended for people at higher risk of severe illness, including:
- everyone 65 years and over
- everyone 18 years and over with medical comorbidities, disability or complex health needs.
Children and adolescents aged 5 to 17 with health conditions that put them at risk of severe illness can also get a booster dose if it’s been 6 months since their last dose or COVID-19 infection, based on an individual risk assessment with their immunisation provider.
Booster doses are not recommended at this time for children and adolescents aged 18 years or under who do not have any risk factors for severe COVID-19.
For more information on 2023 booster doses read ATAGI’s 2023 booster advice statement.
With new COVID-19 vaccine developments every day, it’s normal to have questions or concerns, and possibly feel hesitant about getting a vaccine. That's why we're providing accurate, evidence-based answers to questions about COVID-19 vaccines.