Australia to shorten booster intervals as Omicron pushes cases to records

FILE PHOTO: Nurse immuniser Kelie Lee administers the AstraZeneca vaccine to a patient at a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccination clinic at the Bankstown Sports Club during a lockdown to curb an outbreak of cases in Sydney, Australia, August 25, 2021. REUTERS/Loren Elliott

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia would further shorten the wait time for people to receive their COVID-19 booster shots, Health Minister Greg Hunt said on Friday, as the country grapples with record infections fuelled by the Omicron variant.

Booster shots will be offered from Jan. 4 to everyone over 18 who had their second shot four months earlier and the interval will be again reduced to three months by the end of January.