Parents are encouraged to give their teenagers maximum protection against COVID-19 by ensuring they have a booster.
Teenagers aged 16 and 17 can now have a booster if it’s been three months since their second dose of a COVID vaccine.
The Community Vaccination Clinic at Wonthaggi Town Hall is now offering Pfizer boosters to this age group on a walk-in basis, regardless of which vaccine a teenager has received previously.
“The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) is advising everyone aged 16 years and over to receive a third dose,” Bass Coast Health CEO Jan Child said.
“If you get COVID – particularly the Omicron variant - and you have had a third dose you are less likely to go to hospital and more likely to experience milder symptoms and be able to recover at home.
“Our young people should be able to get on with learning in their last year or two at school and spend time with friends. A serious bout of COVID can seriously disrupt their lives and their schooling, and could lead to long-term health implications.
“The risk of such upheaval in a young person’s life can be minimised by receiving three doses of a COVID vaccine.”
Lorraine Tangpos of Inverloch received her booster at the Wonthaggi Town Hall.
“I got myself boosted as I believe it’s foremost a way of keeping myself and the community truly safe and protected against COVID-19,” she said.