For The Love Of God, Get Your Free COVID Booster
"If you've had two or one, and you haven't had your full three, putting it bluntly – you're crazy."
NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard has said that anyone who hasn’t yet received their third COVID-19 booster shot is “crazy”, as health experts predict another wave of the Omicron variant will hit the state this month.
Australian health officials are pleading for us all to go out and get vaxxed as soon as possible, as the nation crosses the grim milestone of 10,000 deaths from the pandemic.
Health Minister Brad Hazzard has stressed in multiple interviews this week that a third vaccination will significantly reduce the likelihood of hospitalisation from the virus. “If you’ve had two or one, and you haven’t had your full three, putting it bluntly — you’re crazy,” he said on Tuesday. “That is what is going to make a difference to stopping or reducing the chances of you ending up in hospital or ending up possibly dying.”
This year has seen a massive uptick in fatalities from COVID-19 in Australia, with 80 percent of the nation’s total fatalities occurring since January this year. Of the 10,000 fatalities, 56 percent had only received two vaccines or less. Experts have predicted that if the current deaths continue, COVID-19 will be the second-highest cause of death in Australia behind heart disease.
As flu and COVID-19 transmission in the community remains high have a conversation with your doctor and have a plan to manage winter respiratory illnesses. pic.twitter.com/PfaUDfyn7X
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) June 30, 2022
The warning comes as health officials predict that an outbreak of the BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron strains will peak in July and August, with case numbers expected to reach heights seen in Australia at the start of the year. NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant has echoed calls from the government encouraging people to get vaccinated, stressing that Australians shouldn’t consider themselves fully vaxxed unless they’ve had their booster. “Disregard anything we said about two doses. It’s three doses or more,” she said.
The news comes as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese signalled that Australia will eventually allow the general public to receive a fourth round of COVID vaccinations, saying it’s a question of “when” rather than “if”.
“I know that the authorities including ATAGI are looking at that. It’s a question of when rather than whether it will happen. We need to make sure that people continue to keep up their vaccinations,” he said.
Currently, a fourth dose of the COVID vaccine is only available to high-risk groups, which include First Nation’s people over the age of 50 years old, people living in aged care, immunocompromised people, or those older than 65 years.
You can book in for your booster anytime using the government health website.