COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Shots: Everything you need to know! 💉

Published: Wed, 12/08/21

COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Shots

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

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

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

Benefits of a booster dose

Two doses of COVID-19 vaccine provide very good protection, especially against severe disease.

A booster dose will make sure the protection from the first dose is even stronger and longer lasting, and should help prevent spread of the virus.

A booster dose increases your protection against:

infection with the virus that causes COVID-19
severe disease
dying from COVID-19.

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

Booster doses are free for everyone.

Who should get a booster dose

Booster doses are available to everyone 18 years and over who have had both doses of their primary course of a COVID-19 vaccine at least 6 months ago.

ATAGI is not currently recommending booster doses for:

people aged 12 to 17 years
people who are severely immunocompromised and have already had a third dose.

Read ATAGI’s advice on COVID-19 booster doses.

Vaccine types for booster doses

The Comirnaty (Pfizer) 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 Vaxzevria (AstraZeneca) vaccine if you:

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

Read ATAGI’s advice on the type of vaccine recommended for booster doses.

Criteria	Pfizer	Moderna	AstraZeneca
Approved aged group	12+	12+	18+
Primary course	Yes	Yes	Yes
Third dose for immunocompromised people	Yes	Yes	Not preferred^[1]
Booster dose	Yes	No^[2]	Not preferred^[1]
1AstraZeneca can be given as a booster dose in some circumstances, see ATAGI's advice. 2 Moderna is not yet approved by the TGA as a booster dose.

When to get a booster dose

You can book a booster dose if it has been 6 months or longer since your second dose of COVID-19 vaccine.

The date you had your second dose of vaccine is on your COVID-19 digital certificate.

Click here to book your booster shot at Main Street Medical now!