BNTX - Australia to offer fifth COVID shot to all adults later this month
- All Australian adults will be able to receive a fifth COVID-19 vaccine dose later this month, the country’s health minister, Mark Butler, announced Wednesday.
- “From February 20, all adults who have not had a COVID-19 booster or a confirmed case in the past six months can now get another booster to give them additional protection against severe illness from COVID,” he said.
- The announcement follows a recommendation from the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (Atagi).
- Atagi particularly endorsed the 2023 booster dose for those over 65 and younger adults with medical comorbidities, disability, or complex health needs, the minister said.
- While all COVID shots are expected to provide benefits as a fifth dose, Omicron-adjusted messenger RNA shots are preferred for this purpose , the minister added.
- Australia has so far authorized COVID-19 vaccines developed by Pfizer ( NYSE: PFE )/ BioNTech ( NASDAQ: BNTX ), Moderna ( NASDAQ: MRNA ), Novavax ( NVAX ), Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ ), and AstraZeneca ( AZN ).
- Read: Seeking Alpha contributor Juxtaposed Ideas recently upgraded Pfizer ( PFE ) to Buy from Hold despite the waning demand for its jointly-developed COVID shot.
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Australia to offer fifth COVID shot to all adults later this month