Health Minister Greg Hunt invites Pfizer to seek TGA approval for Covid-19 jab use in kids aged 5 to 11

The health minister has urged Pfizer to seek Australian approval to vaccinate children aged five to 11 after clinical trials found the company’s Covid-19 jab safe for use in the age group.

The health minister has urged Pfizer to seek Australian approval to vaccinate children aged five to 11 after clinical trials found the company’s Covid-19 jab safe for use in the age group.

And one of Australia’s chief health professionals has indicated there is a chance kids in the age group could be getting their Covid-19 jabs as early as this year.

Pfizer and BioNTech overnight announced the first results from clinical trials of its mRNA Covid-19 jab in children aged five to 11, using a much lower dose than what is given to adults, showed promising results.

The top line results of the trial showed children aged five to 11 developed coronavirus-fighting antibody levels just as strong as teenagers and young adults getting the regular-strength shots.

Vaccination healthcare concept. Hands of doctor or nurse in medical gloves injecting a shot of vaccine to a man patient

The lower dosage also proved safe, with similar or fewer temporary side effects — such as sore arms, fever or achiness – that what teens experienced.

Pfizer has indicated it planned to submit its findings to international regulatory bodies, including the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), as soon as possible.

Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt on Tuesday wrote to Pfizer’s Australian managing director Anna Harris “inviting” the pharmaceutical company to seek approval from the Therapeutic Goods Administration for the jab to be used in children aged five to 11 at the “earliest possible time”.

“Should the TGA find that the vaccine is safe and effective for children under 12 years of age the Australian Government is well placed to deliver the vaccine to the expanded age cohort with 40 million Pfizer doses being delivered in 2021,” he said.

Australia has also ordered more than 60m doses of the Pfizer jab for use in 2022 and 25m doses for 2023.

Chief nursing and midwifery officer Alison McMillan said there was a possibility the Pfizer Covid-19 jab could be administered to children aged five to 11 from sometime this year, depending on when the pharmaceutical company submits the paperwork to the TGA.

The Australian Medical Association has already thrown its support behind vaccinating children in the cohort.

Australian Medical Association president Dr Omar Khorshid.

AMA president Dr Omar Khorshid told a Senate inquiry on Tuesday that a rollout for younger children would depend on clinical trials and regulatory approval though he anticipates a school-based vaccination program won’t take place until 2022.

“Because it will take that long for various approvals to come through and we need to have vaccine supply,” he said.

Australian children aged 12 to 15-years old are already eligible to get the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, but a jab has yet to be approved for younger children anywhere in the world.