Australian Government

National Cabinet met today to discuss a response to COVID-19, the vaccine rollout and booster programme and the Omicron strain.

National Cabinet was briefed by the Chief Medical Officer Professor Paul Kelly on the Omicron strain with a strong recommendation for indoor mask wearing. While states and territories make decisions on requirements for mask use, all Australians are encouraged to take personal responsibility for wearing a mask.

Further advice has been sought from ATAGI on priority groups for booster shots as this will be important to reducing Omicron transmission in the community. To fast track the booster rollout, National Cabinet agreed to increase distribution capacity at state clinics with the aim of reaching Australia’s previous high daily vaccination levels.

At its next National Cabinet meeting on 7 January 2022, the Chief Medical Officer will bring forward a consistent definition of close and casual contacts, including whether only limited close contacts are required to take PCR testing and home isolation.

A statement from Chief Medical Officer, Professor Paul Kelly, regarding the COVID-19 Omicron variant and changes to international travel arrangements. 

A new vaccine manufacturing facility will be built in Australia to produce respiratory mRNA vaccines to increase preparedness for possible future pandemics, including priority access to vaccines, research and development, clinical trials and global supply chain access. Once operational, Moderna will help meet Australia’s ongoing needs for COVID-19 vaccines, and for other respiratory mRNA vaccines as they are developed and approved by Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA). 

Anyone over 18 living in Australia who has completed their primary two-dose course of vaccination at least 5 months ago is now eligible to have an additional booster shot. A booster dose will make sure that the protection from the primary course is even stronger and longer lasting, and should help prevent spread of the virus.

Make sure that you comply with COVID-19 testing requirements in the states or territories that you plan to travel to. This applies for both international and domestic travel.