Eligible Australians have been urged to pre-book their fourth COVID-19 vaccinations. The call comes as the 2022 flu shot increases the demand and strain on GPs and pharmacies. With vaccination rates in the ACT hitting 98.5 per cent for people aged over five as of Monday and booster rates coming in at 73.4 per cent, only a small number of Canberrans remain unvaccinated. Ochre Medical Centre Kippax practice manager Peter Bradley said while the clinic had an uptick in inquiries last week, demand had started to ebb, with adult vaccination clinics scaled back from weekly to fortnightly. However, Mr Bradley said they expected to return to weekly clinics in the second half of April as fourth dose demand increased. "Before the announcement [of a winter dose] we had seen a big drop-off in booster vaccinations," he said. "A lot of people are not quite yet eligible. Many people will become eligible as we get towards the end of April." In addition, Mr Bradley reminded people to get their flu shots after a decline in the number of people keeping up with their annual influenza vaccine in 2021. He said it was particularly important "as we open up to international tourists and Australians returning from overseas". He reported some patients were confused about when they could receive COVID doses due to the ever-changing timeframe for jabs over the past year. From Monday winter COVID-19 vaccine doses became available for adults aged 65 and over, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 50 and over, aged care or disability care residents, and people severely immunocompromised over 16. The additional dose will be available four months after a booster dose, or if you've had COVID-19 since your booster, you'll need to wait four months since your confirmed infection. Gungahlin General Practice manager Ann Maree Uren said the doctor's office had received many inquiries but "not a lot of bookings" at this stage. On average the clinic had eight winter doses booked in per day for the week, with many people still calling to schedule their first booster shot. In addition to GPs, chemists across Canberra were also gearing up for the rollout. Cooleman Court Pharmacy co-owner Brooke Veasey urged people to book their fourth dose in advance, with the business set to be slammed in the coming months. However, the pharmacist stressed she was very positive about the fourth-dose rollout. READ ALSO: "I just can't stress enough that the main thing is we've at least had time to prepare ourselves and make sure that the workflow is manageable," she said. "I do think that with the volume of different vaccines and influenza season that's coming through, pharmacies will be a little bit busier ... at the end of April and beginning of May. "It's easier for everybody to manage at the moment, because at least this time, we're prepared and we know what's coming." Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: