CORONAVIRUS —
VACCINATION PLAN
1213. Hon Dr BRIAN WALKER to the minister representing the
Minister for Health:
I
refer the minister to the spike in Omicron cases being recorded in New South
Wales and the first cases being detected in hotel quarantine here in Western
Australia.
(1) Given that
medical advice in other jurisdictions, including the United Kingdom where
Omicron cases are more established, is to
offer booster shots from three months after the second vaccination, is the
McGowan government considering a similar shortened time frame here in
WA?
(2) If no to (1),
upon what medical advice is the government basing the efficacy of a five-month
interval, and what advice would it require to reassess that?
(3) What
conversations, if any, are being had with either the federal government or
other Australian states and territories to assess the local advice in light of
the international experience?
Hon
MATTHEW SWINBOURN replied:
I thank the member for some notice
of the question. On behalf of the minister representing the Minister for Health,
I provide the following answer based on the information provided to me by the
Minister for Health.
(1)–(2) The
Western Australian government continues to follow the advice of the Australian
Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation on such matters.
(3) The Western Australian government is in regular
contact with the Australian government about information on the COVID-19
vaccination program.