COVID-19 Vaccine in Point Cook

Who is recommended a COVID-19 vaccine each year

Advice in the Australian Immunisation Handbook (updated 1 October 2026) is based on age and medical risk:

• everyone aged 75 and over: two doses a year, about six months apart
• adults 65 to 74, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults 50 to 74: a yearly dose, with a second one worth considering if they have a medical risk condition
• adults 18 to 64 with severe immunocompromise: a yearly dose, and possibly a second
• other adults under 65, and children from 6 months with a medical risk condition: an annual dose can be considered

Free doses and when you might pay

Under the NIP, free doses are available to people who hold or are eligible for a Medicare card:

• adults 75 and over: two free doses each year
• adults 65 to 74, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people 50 to 74, and people aged 18 to 64 with severe immunocompromise: one free dose each year

Outside those groups, the vaccine can usually be bought privately with a prescription, so the vaccine itself may cost you. Ask reception about the cost when you book.

Timing your dose

The aim now is to keep protection against severe illness topped up, so primary courses are no longer counted. Protection is expected to be strongest for at least four to six months after a dose. COVID-19 has not settled into a reliable season, so the handbook advises not to put off a dose just because of the time of year.

After a recent infection it is safe to be vaccinated once you are well, though waiting a few months may give a better response.

Pregnancy, children and teenagers

Anyone pregnant can consider a dose from 20 weeks in each pregnancy, which may also pass some protection to the baby. Our GPs can talk this through as part of pregnancy care, alongside the other pregnancy vaccines.

Healthy children and teenagers are not routinely advised to have it, because their risk of severe disease is very low. Those with an ongoing health problem that raises their risk can consider a yearly dose after talking it over with a GP.

Side effects and heart conditions

Most reactions are mild and last a day or two: a sore arm, headache, muscle pain, fever or chills and tiredness. Myocarditis and pericarditis (inflammation of or around the heart) are very rare, and have been seen most often in young males after a second mRNA dose. Ask the doctor or nurse what signs to watch for afterwards.

Tell the clinic before your appointment if you have had myocarditis or pericarditis in the past three months, acute rheumatic fever or recently worsening heart failure, as the timing may need adjusting. Call 000 for chest pain or difficulty breathing.

Having your COVID-19 vaccine at Juniper

You can book online or phone the clinic and mention the COVID-19 vaccine when you book. Adult immunisations are bulk billed with all our doctors, and other consultation fees are on the fees page. Doses are recorded on the Australian Immunisation Register, and a GP can review which other adult immunisations you are due for at the same visit.

Common questions

Other services

• Flu Vaccine
• Q Fever Vaccine
• Adult Immunisation
• Shingles Vaccine
• RSV Vaccine
• Child Immunisation
• Whooping Cough Vaccine
• Meningococcal Vaccine
• Travel Immunisation
• Yellow Fever Vaccine
• Pneumonia Vaccine
• Hepatitis A & B Vaccine
• Typhoid Vaccine
• Polio Vaccine
• Rabies Vaccine
• Japanese Encephalitis Vaccine