This morning, Northern Health commenced a new fourth dose (or winter dose) COVID-19 vaccination clinic for staff.

Led by the infection prevention team, the clinic is located in Ward 1 at Northern Hospital Epping, and will operate via bookings only.

In light of increasing infection rates impacting our community, ATAGI has extended the availability of a fourth dose (or winter booster) for those aged over 30.

First to receive their fourth dose at the new clinic was Chief Executive, Siva Sivarajah (pictured above).

Elisha O’Dowd, Nurse Unit Manager, Infection Prevention and Surveillance, said, “Unfortunately the pandemic is not over and rising winter cases continue to impact our health service through a spike in COVID-19 patients and loss of workforce.”

“A winter booster dose is a great way to protect ourselves, our workforce and our community. I will be rolling up my sleeve for a fourth dose and I encourage all our eligible colleagues to join me,” Elisha added.

New Omicron subvariants have recently become dominant in Victoria, bringing with them an increased ability to evade immunity from vaccinations and earlier COVID-19 infections.

In response, there have been some changes made to Victoria’s public health recommendations to help reduce COVID-19 transmission amid a new wave of infections driven by the Omicron subvariants.

The interval recommended between a recent COVID-19 infection or your third dose and a winter dose is now three months – reduced from four months.

Thank you to all involved in setting up this new clinic. We encourage all eligible staff to receive their fourth dose as soon as possible.

To book in, click here. Select ‘winter dose’ and enter the code NHSC-STAFF when prompted.