Some 51% of Australians aged 16+ had received a COVID-19 booster dose as at 19 February. But Mike Toole from the Burnet Institute has expressed concern about the nation’s ‘slow’ take-up rate of boosters. He says this can be attributed to factors such as the perception that the Omicron variant is mild:
“The messaging around Omicron, that it is mild, has inhibited the uptake of boosters for adults and first and second doses for kids,” Toole said. “I think that’s been quite dangerous. The country had 66 deaths on Thursday, 64 on Wednesday, 46 on Tuesday. That’s still a lot of deaths.”
He said last week a lab study showed the BA.2 variant was spreading faster, and causing more severe illness than the original version of Omicron.
