The Hunter New England district has recorded 103 COVID-related deaths since the start of the year.
NSW Health data released on Thursday showed five people in the district died with COVID in the week to March 25.
The district recorded more than 550 COVID-related deaths last year.
University of Newcastle virologist, Professor Nathan Bartlett, said the virus "seems to be settling down in terms of how diverse it is".
"That's encouraging. It's more likely heading down a path of being similar to flu," Professor Bartlett said.
The latest data also showed the Hunter New England district had 29 people in hospital and five in ICU with COVID in the week to March 25.
In the year to date, 352 people in the district were hospitalised with COVID and 45 were admitted to ICU.
The data showed 964 COVID cases were reported in Hunter-New England in the week to March 25 and 13,014 this year.
Professor Bartlett believes eligible people should consider a booster vaccine, in line with the latest ATAGI advice.
"This virus is still circulating out of season. There's still lots of it around, so it's important to have your vaccines up to date," he said.
"If it's been six months since your last bout of COVID or vaccination, then if you're eligible you should certainly consider getting it."
Professor Bartlett said a "swarm of Omicrons hit us last year" with its numerous subvariants.
"Many of us got infected and many of us got infected for the first time."
Dr Nick Coatsworth, a deputy chief medical officer during the pandemic, told the Newcastle Herald that "I encourage all my patients over 65 to get the fifth dose".
"But at some point, we will have to accept that we can't keep giving vaccines every six months," said Dr Coatsworth, an infectious diseases specialist with Australian National University's medical school.
"The combination of infection plus vaccination is highly protective for most Australians, except for a very small group who live with severe medical conditions that suppress their immune system.
"For younger Australians, the benefit of a fifth dose is marginal and it's not surprising to see low uptake in young to middle-age adults."
ATAGI recommends a booster for people who: last had a vaccine dose or confirmed COVID infection six months ago or longer; are 65 years and over; are aged 18 to 64 with comorbidities that increase the risk of severe COVID; have a disability with significant or complex health needs.
It also advises that people aged 18 to 64 without risk factors for severe COVID and those aged five to 17 with comorbidities should "consider" a booster dose.
"All currently available COVID vaccines are anticipated to provide benefit as a booster dose, however bivalent mRNA booster vaccines are preferred over other vaccines," ATAGI stated.
It also advised that a booster dose is "not recommended at this time for children and adolescents under 18, who do not have any risk factors for severe COVID".
Professor Bartlett hoped the virus would "start to settle down more and we'll see a more seasonal profile".
"If that's the case, then we'll probably be looking at annual vaccination boosts preceding winter, like the flu."
Federal Department of Health data showed that Newcastle LGA recorded vaccination rates for those aged 16 and over of 93 per cent (first dose), 92 per cent (second dose), 74 per cent (third dose) and 50 per cent (fourth dose).
Data for a fifth dose, which was offered from February 20, has not been published. The federal health department did not say why.
Dr Coatsworth said it would have been useful for the federal Department of Health and universities to "commission studies of the effectiveness of multiple doses of vaccine".
"Other nations were able to do so, and it's not clear why we were unable to."
