Australians have rolled up their sleeves and got the jabs as asked, so we are not anti-vaccination. But there does seem to be a reluctance to go one step further and get the third, booster jab.
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For the country as a whole, 19 million people have had the first two vaccinations but less than half of those people have had the booster.
Even in the highly-vaccinated ACT, only half of the population have had a booster.
So why do we need boosters?
The scientific evidence is that boosters increase - boost - protection from infection and also from becoming seriously ill if you are infected.
Protection given by vaccination wanes. On top of that, a vaccine designed with one variant in mind may be less effective against new variants - viruses are devious: when they meet a defence, they find ways around it.
Repelling a virus is a bit like building a wall, according to Kylie Quinn of the School of Health and Biomedical Sciences at RMIT University.
"Each level needs to be laid before the next layer is built," Dr Quinn said.
"The first time you give someone a dose of vaccine against a particular infection, it's called a prime. You're getting your immune response ready to roll.
"Each time you give another dose against that same infection, it's called a boost. You're building on immunity you already have from the first dose."
As the Health Department puts it: "A booster dose will continue to protect you, your loved ones and your community against COVID-19.
"Booster doses are free for everyone."
Different vaccines?
There is some evidence that using a different vaccine for the booster can actually increase protection.
The official recommendation is that boosters should be either Pfizer or Moderna and only AstraZeneca if those two aren't available.
Research in the UK found that people whose first two jabs were AstraZeneca and then with a Pfizer or Moderna booster had their antibody levels increased greatly.
When?
As soon as you can is the answer experts invariably give.
As the pandemic has progressed, the qualification time for a booster has come down. It's now three months after the second jab.
Boosters are not compulsory. Neither are the first two jabs.
But it may well be that the definition of "fully vaccinated" changes to insist on a booster, so if you might need proof of full vaccination (say for a sudden holiday abroad as the number of destinations expands), a booster would be needed on the certificate. But not yet.
If I've had COVID, do I need one?
You do but it is not clear when you should have it.
The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) doesn't recommend any specific waiting time beyond saying that the worst stages of infection should be over: "The patient should delay next dose until they have recovered from the acute illness."
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But paediatrician Margie Danchin of the Murdoch Children's Research Institute recommended a wait of "at least three months" after recovery.
"Vaccination can also be deferred for up to six months if preferred, as past infection does reduce the chance of reinfection for at least this amount of time, but there is still much we don't know about the Omicron variant," she wrote.
What about children?
From last Thursday, 16 year-olds and older were eligible. Younger people aren't eligible but it seems likely they will be at some stage.
When that happens, Dr Danchin recommends pragmatism: "Some parents may worry that if they cancel an upcoming appointment, they may not get another until much later.
"So if a parent has an appointment coming up and their child has completely recovered, and has no symptoms, then - knowing the pressures on the system and approaching new school year - I wouldn't decline that appointment. It's about making a judgement call at the time of the appointment."
If in doubt, ask a GP.
More boosters on the way?
Possibly but not definitely.
Israel has been in the lead with pandemic policy. It vaccinated early - and then discovered that protection waned - so it introduced boosters.
It has now started offering a fourth dose to people aged over 60 and to those in other vulnerable groups. Early indications, are, though, that it hasn't been very effective.
On top of that, there may come a situation where booster doses are at the expense of people who need primary doses, particularly those in very poor countries.
The World Health Organisation recently warned that "a vaccination strategy based on repeated booster doses of the original vaccine composition is unlikely to be appropriate or sustainable".
It may well be a continuing cat-and-mouse game between the virus and the scientists where new vaccines need to be developed frequently, albeit ones based on existing ones.
Steve Evans
Steve Evans is a reporter on The Canberra Times. He's been a BBC correspondent in New York, London, Berlin and Seoul and the sole reporter/photographer/paper deliverer on The Glen Innes Examiner in country New South Wales. "All the jobs have been fascinating - and so it continues."
Steve Evans is a reporter on The Canberra Times. He's been a BBC correspondent in New York, London, Berlin and Seoul and the sole reporter/photographer/paper deliverer on The Glen Innes Examiner in country New South Wales. "All the jobs have been fascinating - and so it continues."
