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The Moderna COVID-19 vaccine has been approved for use in booster shots for adults in Australia.

Australia's medicines authority, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), has given the green light to the shot being used as a booster for people aged 18 and over.

Until now, only the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine has been available for booster shots in Australia.

READ MORE: Victoria records its first known case of Omicron

As is advised with the Pfizer booster shot, the Moderna booster shot should be given six months after the second dose of any COVID-19 vaccine.

The TGA has also said immunocompromised people aged 12 and over can have a third shot as soon as 28 days after their second vaccine.

The TGA said its decision to allow the Moderna vaccine to be used for booster shots was guided by expert advice from the independent Advisory Committee on Vaccines.

"TGA provisionally approved the booster dose following careful evaluation of the available data supporting safety and efficacy," the TGA said.

The announcement comes after the Australian Government last week decided not to reduce the six-month period between people getting a second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and their booster shot.

The move was considered after the UK moved to reduce the time period between shots in response to the new Omicron variant of concern.

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