Victorian chief health officer Brett Sutton has raised eyebrows by suggesting that getting a Covid-19 booster is just like recharging your phone.

Sutton, who became the face of the pandemic in Victoria, re-emerged yesterday in a department of health video urging people to get a fifth jab.

“Getting your booster dose is like recharging your phone when the battery is low,” he said.

“Now is a good time to recharge your immunity with a booster dose to prepare for winter.”

Getting your booster is like recharging your phone when the battery’s full, causing it to overheat and explode.

There I fixed it. https://t.co/HzScleUPoT

— Avi Yemini (@OzraeliAvi) March 2, 2023

The health department video was inundated with comments from people questioning the phone recharging analogy.

One person replied: “And yet when you overcharge the battery on your phone, it eventually needs replacing. Get my drift?”

Sutton warned that most Victorians had not had a booster vaccine in six months and so now had “significantly waned immunity”.

“Getting your booster remains the best way to boost your immunity to protect your loved ones against the virus and its variants,” he said.

The 2023 booster dose is accessible for all people over the age of 18, with health authorities particularly recommending those over 65 and those over 18 with a disability or complex medical condition get the jab.