Latest recommendation updates
Updates have been made to the ATAGI clinical guidance to reflect recommendations for Moderna primary course in children aged 6 months to under 5 years, and Novavax primary course in adolescents 12 to 17 years.
Recent meeting deliberations can be found on the ATAGI page.
Recent ATAGI considerations
On Wednesday 7 September, ATAGI met to consider the latest developments relating to COVID-19 immunisation. As of 6 September, over 63 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in Australia.
Moderna bivalent variant vaccine
Following from the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) provisional approval for the Moderna bivalent COVID-19 vaccine, Spikevax Bivalent Zero/Omicron (Moderna bivalent booster) on 29 August 2022, ATAGI have recommended that the Moderna bivalent booster can be used in people aged 18 years and older for the first or second booster dose (i.e. the third or fourth dose for most people), according to the current ATAGI recommendations for booster doses.
The booster dose of COVID-19 vaccine should be given at least 3 months after the most recent COVID-19 vaccine dose or previous SARS-CoV-2 infection.
While booster vaccination with a variant-containing vaccine may not necessarily 'match' the circulating variant, it is anticipated to induce a broad immune response to current SARS-CoV-2 variants.
ATAGI considers receiving all recommended COVID-19 vaccine doses to be a more important factor in obtaining optimal protection against severe COVID-19 than which variant is contained within the dose. ATAGI continue to emphasise the importance of receiving the COVID-19 vaccinations recommended for your age or individual health needs.
In the coming weeks, patients will be able to access the Moderna bivalent booster as an option, along with the other registered COVID-19 vaccines. The Moderna bivalent booster and original COVID-19 vaccines (various brands) will continue to be available in the near future. Eligible individuals can receive whichever COVID-19 booster vaccine is available to them.
ATAGI recommends that any person who has not yet received a first or recommended second COVID-19 booster dose, arrange to receive their booster soon, using either the Moderna bivalent booster or an alternative original vaccine.
