Controversial call to push Year 12s to head of jab queue
An infectious disease doctor is urging authorities to urgently put Queensland Year 12 students at the head of the mass vaccination hub queue.
Year 12 students should be prioritised at Brisbane’s new mass vaccination hub, a top infectious disease doctor has controversially warned as “time is running out for them to get their lives on track” .
“The final year - kids won’t get this year back. They need to be able to get to classes and complete their education which is vitally important,” Associate Professor Paul Griffin told The Courier-Mail.
The hub, which opens on Wednesday for all ages from 16 years at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, will offer first shots of Pfizer and second shots of AstraZeneca.
“It’s never easy to decide who should be prioritised but this cohort is important and I would think they need support,” he said.
Year 12 twins Nicholas and Harry Nairn desperately want a Covid shot but have faced hurdles in the booking system.
Mum Lucy Cook said the government websites do not have a category for this age group to tick so the booking does not proceed.
“I think 17 year olds are falling through the cracks . I’ve been told twice by a GP that they need to be 18. There is confusion. The boys would take any vaccine. They are just concerned that with the Delta strain in schools they could end up getting sick and missing classes,”
Ms Cook said
Harry is on track to get into medical school but is anxious of getting ill and the virus derailing all his hard work.
“A 17-year-old in Indooroopilly caught Delta. We now see it can happen to schoolkids. I think those coming up to exams and in their final year should be prioritised,” Harry said
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