The likelihood of Covid-19 booster shots being available sooner is “under very active consideration”, Dr Ashley Bloomfield says
The current advice from Pfizer is a six-month wait for a booster shot, but the Director-General of Health says he will be speaking with government ministers later on Friday about speeding up the rollout.
It comes as Aotearoa's first Omicron case was confirmed on Thursday afternoon and is now in a quarantine wing of an MIQ facility in Christchurch.
The person flew into New Zealand from Germany, via Dubai, and is double vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine.
Bloomfield says its important people get the protection from the booster at the right time in case Omicron does arrive into the community.
“That’s under very active consideration, in fact I just got some advice from our advisory group in the last day or two and we’re talking about this very issue with a group of ministers this afternoon.
“We know that six months is what Pfizer had advised for and that’s been approved, but we also want to make sure people get that protection from that third dose, at the right time.”
Bloomfield also wouldn't rule lockdowns out of the equation, and says they remain another “tool in the toolbox” to use against Covid.
“None of us want a lockdown, especially Aucklanders just having come out of a pretty long one actually.
Even in the Covid protection framework, based on a high level of vaccination, Bloomfield says there is the option in there to use lockdowns “if necessary”.
“Whether it’s Omicron or not, the whole idea of keeping it in the toolbox is it might be needed in a region or an area to help control a reasonable sized outbreak especially if that’s putting pressure on health services.
“What we’ve learnt over the last nearly two years of this pandemic is that you use everything you’ve got when you need to.”
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