In the past month, more than 2 million Australians have tested positive for COVID-19, but the explosion in infections has coincided with the widening availability of booster shots.
As of yesterday, everyone in the country is eligible for a booster three months after their second dose of a vaccine.
But what happens when you get sick with COVID around the time of your scheduled shot?
Here's when the government's experts say you can get vaccinated if you've recently recovered from a bout of the virus.
When can you get vaccinated after contracting COVID?
If you've tested positive for COVID-19 you shouldn't be attending a pharmacy, GP or vaccination centre to get jabbed while infectious.
But authorities say there's nothing to stop you receiving a vaccine dose — be it a booster or part of an initial course — once your symptoms have ceased completely and your isolation period has ended.
Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer Alison McMillan urged anyone who had recovered and was due for a booster to take it as soon as possible.
"So if you have had COVID recently or you think you had COVID … once the runny nose, the headache, the sore throat, the ache and pains, all of those things have gone, then you can go and get your booster," she said.
According to the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI), "there is no requirement to delay vaccination" after a COVID-positive person has recovered from acute illness in most cases.
However, it does say people who received specific treatments for COVID-19 should wait.
"Vaccination should be deferred for 90 days in people who have received anti-SARS-CoV-2 monoclonal antibody or convalescent plasma therapy," ATAGI says.
ATAGI says that if a patient tests positive for COVID-19 between their first and second doses, or between their second and booster dose, the patient should delay their appointment until they have recovered from the illness.
People who suffer ongoing and persistent COVID-19 symptoms after four months should be dealt with on a case-by-case basis, the advisory group says.
Do you need a booster if you've recovered from COVID-19?
ATAGI says that while there is no requirement to delay vaccination, it can be deferred for up to four months after COVID-19 infection, "as past infection reduces the chance of reinfection for at least this amount of time".
However, Professor McMillan said people who contracted COVID-19 shouldn't rely solely on natural built-up immunity to protect them from reinfection.
"There are often questions asked of us about, if I have had COVID or I think I’ve had COVID, do I really need to get boosted? And the answer is absolutely you do," she said.
"We know that an initial infection does potentially provide you with a small amount of protection from COVID, but we really don't yet know how much, but we do know that the booster will provide you with high levels of protection, particularly against severe disease and death."
NSW Health says for people who have recovered from COVID-19, boosters can strengthen their protection up to 86 per cent against infection and 98 per cent against serious illness.
