The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) recommends administering an extra “Winter Dose” of COVID-19 vaccine to aged care residents and other vulnerable people before winter. Here’s what you need to know to get it done.

Who Should Get the Winter Dose?

• Adults aged 65 years and older.
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people over the age of 50.
• People aged 16 years and older who are severely immunocompromised.

This will likely include all your residents, but it may also include some of your workforce.

When Should The Winter Dose Be Administered?

Ideally, the dose should be administered at least four months after the person received their initial booster dose. However, in aged care facilities this can be reduced to three months to make it easier for the facility to vaccinate a large number of residents in one session.

If possible, the COVID winter dose should be administered at the same time as the influenza shot.

Organising the Winter Dose

You have three options for organising your Winter COVID-19 vaccinations:

1. Primary care providers for COVID-19 Winter dose administration

This is the main delivery channel for on-site COVID-19 Winter Dose vaccinations in residential aged care. Work with your existing primary care provider to organise the doses as your residents become eligible (three to four months after their initial booster).

If your annual flu vaccinations are administered on-site by a primary care provider, you can ask them to administer COVID-19 Winter vaccine doses at the same time or, if required, separately.

Need help? Contact your Primary Health Network.

2. Commonwealth in-reach COVID-19 Winter Dose Clinics

If you can’t secure a primary care provider to administer doses, you can request an in-reach Commonwealth COVID-19 Winter Dose Vaccination clinic. You are eligible for a Commonwealth COVID-19 Winter Dose clinic if:

• at least 10% of your residents need a COVID-19 vaccination (first, second, booster or winter dose) and this equates to at least 10 residents; or
• you can’t find any other way to get your COVID-19 winter doses.

Use the online form to request a Commonwealth COVID-19 Winter Dose clinic. Note this form is only available until 31 May 2022. Also note that, except in very limited circumstances, the Commonwealth clinics will not deliver flu vaccines. You will have to organise administration of flu vaccines yourself.

3. Aged care provider on-site COVID-19 Winter dose clinics

If your facility is already approved to run an on-site COVID-19 vaccination clinic, then you can run your own COVID-19 Winter Dose clinic. You can also opt to administer flu vaccinations at the same time if you are authorised to do so by your state/territory government.

More Information

• Department of Health: ATAGI recommends COVID-19 Winter vaccine dose for residents in aged care facilities
• Department of Health: Preparing your aged care service for winter – readiness
• Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC) statement on winter season preparedness