Covid Australia: TGA approves ­Pfizer vaccine for 5-11 year olds

A Covid vaccination program for children aged five to 11 is expected to roll out from January after being approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration.

Primary school kids are on track to be given their first jab by the time they go back to school next year, with the ­Pfizer vaccine cleared for their use in Australia.

As authorities around the world wait for data on the transmissibility and virulence of the Omicron variant, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) on Sunday announced it had provisionally approved Pfizer’s vaccine as safe to be given to children aged five to 11.

The youngsters will receive a dose one-third of the size given to children over 12.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said there was nothing more important than the health of our children.

“That’s why we made sure these vaccines got the rigorous review of Australia’s top health experts,” he said.

A child, 11, receives the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine for children in Montreal. Picture: Andrej Ivanov/AFP

Mr Morrison said the vaccines will help keep both young and old Australians safe.

“This will mean peace of mind for parents and teachers knowing children are protected,” he said.

“Ultimately, the more Australians who get vaccinated the more we can secure our recovery from this pandemic too, with less disruption to schooling and home life.”

TGA approval is the first and most significant hurdle the vaccine needs to leap before it can be rolled out across the country.

The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) will now consider which groups should receive the vaccine.

Pfizer has agreed to supply enough vaccine for every Australian aged 5-11, with the first shipment of the smaller doses due to arrive in early January.

The federal government expects to begin rolling out the vaccine to 2.3 million primary school aged children from January 10 next year in time for the return to school.

In the 11 weeks since the vaccine was approved for their use more than three quarters of kids aged 12-15 have had one dose of vaccine, with 67.5 per cent having had both jabs.

Health Minister Greg Hunt said the approval was “the first of four critical steps before vaccinations begin”.

Following the advice from ATAGI, Mr Hunt said there would also need to be training provided to those administering the vaccine if ATAGI required it as well as batch testing of shipments to ensure the rigorous standards of all vaccine supplies.

“As we have done throughout the pandemic, we will act on medical advice to ensure all those who wish to receive a vaccine will have the opportunity to do so, wherever they are across Australia,” he said.

“Australia is well prepared for any scenario recommended by ATAGI and our government has been working closely with the manufacturer Pfizer, vaccine providers and states and territories, to ensure Australian children will have access to this safe and effective vaccine as a priority.”

Moderna’s vaccine is being evaluated for use on children aged 6-11, with supply deals in place should it be approved.

Australia’s health regulator said that, with more than one in five of Australia’s Covid-19 cases a child aged under 12, vaccination remains young people’s greatest protection, including from the looming Omicron variant.

Therapeutic Goods Administration head Professor John Skerritt on Sunday said although children did not generally get as sick from Covid as adults, there were still some “sobering statistics” about the 5 to 11-year-old cohort of 2.3 million kids in Australia.

“A bit over a fifth of all cases of Covid are actually in the under 12, and indeed some of the early data with Omicron suggests that that may actually be highest for Omicron variant,” he said.

“Now while those kids do get a fairly mild infection, and only a limited number end up in ICU, which was great, there are bigger impacts.

“Unfortunately, about one in 3000 of the kids who get Covid actually end up with this funny immunological condition called multi system inflammatory condition and those kids can end up being very sick for a month.”

The TGA’s approval of the use of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine for kids aged 5 to 11 is pending its approval from the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation.

Prof Skerritt said another important reason to get younger children vaccinated was to ensure they could “live a normal life” unimpeded by restrictions.

“The effects on social, educational, sporting and physical development of these kids has been affected by Covid,” he said.

“The ability to vaccinate those kids is so that they can return to those activities.”

Originally published as Covid Australia: TGA approves ­Pfizer vaccine for 5-11 year olds