Covid booster shots no longer 'an optional extra' in Aus state
Melbourne, Jan 20 - Premier of Australia's Victoria Daniel Andrews on Thursday urged residents of the state to get a Covid-19 booster vaccine, saying it was no longer an "optional extra".
Andrews said he was hopeful the national framework would embrace "practical scientific reality" to mandate booster shots, as a third dose was necessary to "protect against severe illness", reports Xinhua news agency
"To be properly protected, you need three doses. That is what the experts tell us and what I expect the National Cabinet (meeting) to reflect today," Andrews said.
"I want to be really clear with everybody, this is not two plus an optional extra. It is three doses in order to be protected against severe illness as well as to minimize the likelihood of you getting the virus or giving the virus to someone else."
The Victoria health department reported 21,966 new Covid-19 cases and 15 deaths on Thursday.
The total number of active cases in the state is currently 246,894, with 1,206 patients in hospitals.
Victoria announced on Wednesday to cut the booster dose interval to three months.
Currently, about 27 per cent of eligible adults have received booster in the state.
--IANS
ksk/
Please Share this article with your friends.
Sponsor
Related & Matched:
More from:International News
Thailand Open: Sindhu reaches quarters, Srikanth pulls out
NASA's Marsquake hunting mission to last only till December
Russia ranks 'unfriendly' nations; US tops chart
Poster of Jr NTR's next film creates a buzz; makers to release update soon
Samsung to show cutting edge 3-nm chip to Joe Biden during campus visit
Vax post infection can lower symptoms of long Covid: Study
Karunaratne, Dickwella help Sri Lanka draw first Test against Bangladesh
Erratic temperatures causing more deaths than heatwaves: Study
Formula 1: Red Bull to run junior driver Vips in FP1 in Barcelona
Eating cranberries may help improve memory, ward off dementia
Coming back into red-ball cricket will suit Kane Williamson's game, and temperament: Gary Stead
Karachi blast mastermind received instructions from head of SRA in Iran
UN chief says renewable energy "lifeline" to ending climate change
Netflix actually losing long-term paid subscribers: Report
Russia says 771 more Ukrainian soldiers surrender at Azovstal steel plant
S. Korean, Russian nuclear envoys hold phone talks on N. Korea
టెలిగ్రామ్ లో ఆంధ్రవిలాస్ వార్తల కోసం
Cinema Vaarthalu
Sponsor
