Everyone in Australia will be offered a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine. As first doses will be limited, high priority groups will get their vaccines first. The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) gave advice to the Government on prioritising groups for COVID-19 vaccination.

Use the COVID-19 Vaccine Eligibility Checker to see if you are eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine:

The Phase 1b roll-out will include:

• Elderly adults aged 80 years and over
• Elderly adults aged 70-79 years
• Other health care workers
• Begin vaccinating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults
• Adults with a specified medical condition
  • People will need to provide proof of these conditions to demonstrate their eligibility for vaccination via My health record, a health professional referral if required or a declaration form.
• Adults with a disability who have a specified underlying medical condition
• Critical and high-risk workers including defence, police, fire, emergency services and meat processing
  • Workers will need to provide proof of occupation to demonstrate their eligibility.

The COVID-19 vaccine will be voluntary and free. As safe and effective vaccines become available, the Government will  vaccinate as many Australians as possible  for COVID-19. If you choose not to have a COVID-19 vaccine your eligibility for Government payments won’t be affected.

Vaccination is the most effective way to protect against infectious diseases. Vaccines strengthen your immune system by training it to recognise and fight against specific viruses. When you get vaccinated, you are protecting yourself and helping to protect the whole community.

COVID-19 can spread quickly and widely. It has resulted in the deaths of over 1.9 million people worldwide and over 900 deaths in Australia.  When enough people in the community are vaccinated, it slows down the spread of disease. Achieving herd immunity is a long-term goal. It usually requires a large amount of the population to be vaccinated.

The coronavirus that causes COVID-19 has spikes of protein on each viral particle. These spike proteins allow the virus to attach to cells and cause disease.

The vaccines in development help the body to “recognise” these spike proteins as foreign and fight the coronavirus that has them. The vaccine will protect a person who receives it by lowering their chances of getting COVID-19 if they encounter the coronavirus.

If you have already had COVID-19 and recovered, you may have some natural immunity to contracting the disease again. However because this virus is new, it’s not clear how long natural immunity might last.

Even if you have had COVID-19, you should still have the vaccine to help protect against getting COVID-19 again or passing it onto someone else.

It is not yet known how long the protection afforded by a COVID-19 vaccine will last. This is being evaluated in ongoing research.

Most COVID-19 vaccines require two doses. This includes the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, the Pfizer vaccine and the Novavax vaccine. Whether you will need additional booster doses, such as an annual booster, for COVID-19 vaccines is still being determined by ongoing clinical trials

You may experience minor side effects following vaccination. Most side effects last no more than a couple of days and you will recover without any problems.

Common side effects are reported to be very similar to those that you may experience with other vaccines. These are normal as your immune system is being activated. Examples include:

• Muscle soreness, redness or swelling at the injection site
• Fever
• General tiredness for a few days
• Headache

Use the COVID-19 vaccine side effects symptom checker if you have concerns about any symptoms after your vaccine. The checker is also available through the National Coronavirus Helpline, 1800 020 080, 24 hours a day.

The COVID-19 vaccine side effects symptom checker is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult a medical professional for serious symptoms or emergencies.

People who have had COVID-19 and recovered should still be vaccinated. The protection someone gains from having COVID-19 varies from person to person. Because this virus is new, experts don’t yet know how long any natural immunity might last. Even if you have already had COVID-19, you should still get the COVID-19 vaccine when you can.

You should discuss any treatments you had with your doctor before you get vaccinated.

Australia has also been fortunate in having low numbers of COVID-19 infections and this means that the community as a whole has no immunity. This is why vaccination is so important to protect people from severe disease.

Routine scheduling and giving a flu vaccine with a COVID-19 vaccine on the same day is not recommended. The preferred minimum interval between a dose of seasonal flu vaccine and a dose of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine is 14 days.

Influenza (flu) and COVID-19 are not the same. While they’re both viral infections, the viruses belong to 2 separate groups. The regular flu vaccination does not provide immunity to, or protection from, COVID-19.

Similarly, a COVID-19 vaccine will not provide protection from the flu.

COVID-19 vaccination is not a cure-all or a complete substitute for safe behaviour. It should supplement other public health rules and guidelines.

After you are vaccinated, COVID-safe measures remain in place. These include:

• testing
• contact tracing
• quarantine
• isolation

To continue to protect others you still need to:

• practise good hygiene
• practise physical distancing
• follow the limits for public gatherings
• understand how to isolate if you need to.

Yes, all COVID-19 safe preventative measures such as wearing masks, physical distancing and frequent hand washing should still be followed after receiving the vaccine. This is because the vaccine program will take a while to be rolled out and for the effect to be seen. If the vaccine program is effective and a large proportion of people are immunised then restrictions may be able to ease if herd immunity develops.