About the second booster
The second COVID-19 booster is available six months after the first booster for older New Zealanders and other groups at higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19.
If you are healthy and have no underlying health conditions, or if you are pregnant, a second booster dose is currently not recommended.
If you have recently had COVID-19, you must wait until three months after your infection before you can receive your second booster dose. You do not need to delay your flu vaccine if you have recently had COVID-19.
Who can get second booster?
A second booster is available for everyone over 50 and for health, aged-care and disability workers over the age of 30.
The second booster is recommended six months since their previous dose for:
- People aged 65 years and over.
- Māori and Pacific peoples aged 50 years and over.
- Residents of aged-care and disability-care facilities.
- Severely immunocompromised people who received a three-dose primary course and a fourth dose as a first booster (noting this would be a fifth dose for these people).
- People aged 16 years and over who have a medical condition that increases the risk of severe breakthrough COVID-19 illness.
- Disabled people aged 16 years and over with significant or complex health needs or multiple comorbidities that increase the risk of poor outcomes from COVID-19.
Getting the second booster
Anyone who is eligible for a second booster can get one without a prescription from a range of places, including walk-in and drive-through vaccination centres, booking online using Book My Vaccine or by calling the COVID-19 Vaccination Healthline on 0800 28 29 26.
If you need assistance
When you book your vaccination, you will be asked if you require assistance during your appointment.
Assistance includes:
- a NZ sign language interpreter
- support to make decisions
- assistance to move around
- a longer appointment time
- a quiet or low-sensory environment
- more space to move around.
If you book online, we may need to contact you to make sure we can meet your requirements at your chosen vaccination site.