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Minister Ayres: ‘If you want NSW to stay open, you must get your booster shot’

The state’s deputy premier has warned that NSW residents will need a third dose of a vaccine to avoid future closures

Maxim Boon
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Maxim Boon
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NSW is offering every adult over the age of 16 a third dose of a vaccine – otherwise known as a “booster shot” – six months after their second dose. This is currently not a mandatory requirement, although the state’s chief health officer has now stated that for people who are immunocompromised, a third shot must be part of their ‘primary immunisation’. However, at the press briefing on November 2, deputy premier Stuart Ayres suggested that if the people of NSW wanted the state to remain open, a booster shot would be a must for everyone.

“We all have a responsibility to get our booster shot. If you want to remain in work, if you want your favourite café or your favourite restaurant or your favourite pub to stay open, then you need to get your booster shot,” Ayres said. “There is simply nothing more important you can do to bed in all the important work we’ve done than getting your third dose. If you do that, you give us the absolute best chance to fight off this insidious virus so we never see it again.”

Booster shots are recommended six months after a second dose has been administered. Currently in Australia, all third doses will be Pfizer, regardless of the vaccine brand of your first two doses. 

Ayres alongside the state’s chief health officer also encouraged people to continue getting tested, even after they have been fully vaccinated. “We’re not through the entire pandemic yet. We want to open up and we want to get people back into work as much as we possibly can, but we want that to be sustainable,” Ayres said. “You can still get Covid if you’re vaccinated, so we still have personal responsibilities to protect ourselves, our families and our communities by getting tested.”

Stay up to date with the latest developments of NSW's exit from the pandemic. Bookmark the Time Out Sydney news hub.

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