Patients should wait at least three months after recovering from SARS-CoV-2 infection before receiving any COVID-19 vaccine, new ATAGI guidance states.  

Dr Lucas de Toca, the health department official in charge of the GP vaccine rollout, flagged the change last week, admitting that having different post-infection intervals for the two boosters had been “a little bit confusing”.  

Previously, it had been recommended patients should receive their first booster shot as soon as they had recovered from a COVID-19 infection, but those eligible for a second booster shot or ‘winter dose’ — such as people aged 65 and older — were being told to wait at least four months after the illness.  

“We want to standardise post-infection advice so it is consistent for winter doses, as it is for [first] boosters,” Dr de Toca told a federal Department of Health webinar.