Covid-19 Australia: Pfizer won’t say when it will provide its Covid jab to under five year-olds
Pfizer has responded to questions over its vaccine plans for children, as Victoria, NSW and Queensland faced another deadly day of Covid infections and deaths.
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Pfizer is refusing to comment on when or whether it will seek approval to provide its Covid-19 vaccine to children under the age of five in Australia.
“We are not able to comment on regulatory processes,” a spokesman for the company said.
The company announced earlier this week that at the request of the US Food and Drug Administration it had applied for approval to supply a low dose Covid vaccine to children aged between six months to four years.
The US regulator will consider the medical evidence and decide whether to approve the jab for very young children on February 15.
If the company’s application is successful the shot could be available to young children in the US from the end of this month.
Before young children in Australia could get access to the vaccine it would have to be approved by the medicines regulator the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) and the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI).
These bodies cannot consider the vaccine until the pharmaceutical company applies for approval to supply it here.
The company will have to submit medical evidence to show the vaccine is safe and that it works in young children.
Late last year Pfizer announced that a low dose version of its Covid vaccine produced strong antibody responses in younger children.
However, the results in children aged between two and four years was disappointing and the company is currently trialling the addition of a third dose of the vaccine to see if that works better.
The results of this trial are not expected until next month. Meantime, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) said it has not yet received an application to extend the use of any provisionally approved COVID-19 vaccine to children under 5 years of age.
“Once an application is received to register a vaccine for use in this age group, it will be evaluated by the TGA with the greatest priority,” the agency said.
The Department of Health said the safety of the Australian population has always been the Australian Government’s highest priority.
“For this reason, decisions regarding COVID-19 vaccines have been, and continue to be, based on the expert medical advice of the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI),” the department said.
“If a vaccine for children under 5 years of age is registered for use by the TGA, the Department of Health will seek advice from ATAGI as appropriate,” it said.
ATAGI will make its recommendations after carefully considering the relevant risks, benefits and uncertainties of the evidence, the department said.
YOUNG CHILD DIES OF COVID
Queensland has reported another 16 coronavirus deaths – including a child under 10 – as the state’s daily case numbers rise to 9630.
Chief health officer Dr John Gerrard said the child had a very serious and rare underlying inherited medical condition.
The deaths announced on Wednesday were all over 50, six of whom were unvaccinated, with seven of the 16 deaths coming in aged care.
The toll over the course of the pandemic now stands at 225, with all but seven of these fatalities coming in the first 32 days of 2022.
Deaths in aged care account for more than half of the overall tally at 114.
Wednesday’s daily case numbers were up on the 7588 reported in the previous 24 hours, but public sector hospitalisations have dropped from 801 to 764.
The number of people in public sector ICU has dipped from 50 to 49, while 23 people remain on ventilators.
There are 74 patients in private hospitals, one of whom is in ICU.
Health Minister Yvette D’Ath on Tuesday said she was dismayed at the losses piling up in nursing homes, a situation she blames on the federal government.
Ms D’Ath said the Commonwealth had offloaded much of the work for the aged care sector onto the states, including requests for states to source hospital beds, protective equipment and rapid antigen tests.
She also lashed the federal government for failing to keep tabs on booster shot data for nursing homes.
“I’m hearing of residents being locked behind doors for days on end, I’m worried about adequate food and staff to provide healthy meals to residents, I’m worried about adequate staff and I’m very concerned that there are not enough aged care residents out there getting the boosters,” Ms D’Ath said on Tuesday.
VICTORIA: 14,553 CASES, 25 DEATHS
Victoria has recorded 14,553 new cases and 25 Covid deaths on Wednesday.
There are now 768 infected people in Victorian hospitals, with 99 in intensive care and 31 on ventilators.
Victoria’s pre-Omicron peak for Covid hospitalisations was 851 in October when the state was battling a surge in Delta infections.
In contrast, there are 2622 people in NSW who are in hospital with Covid.
More than 93 per cent of eligible Victorians are fully vaccinated and the state has 73,886 active cases.
A total of 35,030 PCR tests were taken on Wednesday and 17,644 vaccines were administered at state hubs.
Melbourne landmarks will soon become vaccine sites as part of a bid to get more children vaccinated as the school year begins.
Melbourne Zoo, Healesville Sanctuary, Legoland and Scienceworks are among the locations that will be known as ‘K-pops’.
Nine locations across the city have already been flagged to become a part of the program with each delivering up to 100 doses to kids every weekend.
Health Minister Martin Foley said the program is aimed to ensure Covid vaccinations are easily accessible to disadvantaged families.
“It’s a fun and enjoyable experience for kids we know who find it hard,” he said.
“We want to make it as exciting as possible.”
The K-pops will at first invitation only for children with potential access issues.
Others served by the program will include children from out of home care, living with disability or in contact with specialist services.
The State Library of Victoria, Melbourne Museum, Immigration Museum, Werribee Open Range Zoo and Sealife Aquarium round out the locations.
NSW: 11,807 CASES, 27 DEATHS
NSW has recorded 27 new deaths and 11,807 infections of Covid-19 on Wednesday.
There are now 2622 people with the virus in hospital, 170 of which are in intensive care, down from 2749 and 183 respectively on Tuesday.
Infections have dropped again after 12,818 and 30 deaths were recorded on Tuesday and 13,026 infections and 27 deaths on Monday.
The state recorded its deadliest day of the pandemic on Sunday when 52 people with the virus died.
Wednesday’s cases come from 6314 at-home rapid antigen tests and 5493 positive PCR test results.
TOP AUSSIE AUTHORITY’S WARNING ON ANTI-Covid PILL
Australia’s Covid-19 Clinical Evidence Taskforce says the evidence on the efficacy of molnupiravir is too limited and should be given as a last resort.
The government has ordered 300,000 doses of the Merck-produced anti-Covid pill.
But the medicines authority says Pfizer’s drug nirmatrelvir-ritonavir, or Paxlovid, should be given instead, The Australian reports.
The drugs are recommended for use within five days of the onset of symptoms and work best in individuals at risk of severe illness.
The task-force says the drugs should not be given to patients who have received a booster vaccination.
“It is unlikely that nirmatrelvir plus ritonavir will be particularly valuable in patients who have received three doses of vaccine unless the patient is immunosuppressed,” it said.
“Given the likely higher risk of deterioration in these patients, and the absence of reasons to believe otherwise, it is likely that nirmatrelvir plus ritonavir will be beneficial for immunosuppressed patients.”
PM CONCEDES: ‘I HAVEN’T GOT EVERYTHING RIGHT’
A contrite Prime Minister Scott Morrison says he hasn’t “got everything right” and has learned “invaluable” lessons during the pandemic, but has stopped short of extending a blanket apology to Australians for the failings.
With the next federal election only months away, Mr Morrison used his National Press Club speech on Tuesday to make a direct pitch to voters, acknowledging their “frustration” and “disappointment” following a disastrous summer disrupted by the Omicron wave. “Australians (have) … had to put up with a lot,” he said.
“I haven’t got everything right, and I’ll take my fair share of the criticism and the blame. It goes with the job.”
Earlier, Mr Morrison was ushered in the back entrance of the press club in Canberra as hundreds of anti-vaccine protesters swarmed the building.
Inside, he sidestepped the question when pressed on whether he should have to “say sorry” for failings in aged care, the Covid-19 pandemic response, the Black Summer bushfires or the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).
Instead he offered insights on the lessons learned in “hindsight”.
“We’re all terribly sorry for what this pandemic has done to the world and to this country,” he said. “These are not simple issues with simple solutions. They’re complex and events can work against you.”
Mr Morrison said he did not believe Australians expected “perfection,” but did expect the government to “keep working … every single day”.
“I think as we went into the summer … we were too optimistic, perhaps, and we could have communicated more clearly about the risks and challenges that we still faced,” he said.
“I think in raising those expectations about the summer, that we heightened the great sense of disappointment that people felt.”
On the Covid-19 vaccination program, Mr Morrison revealed a specific regret.
“If I had my time over, I would have put it under a military operation from the outset and not later in the year,” he said.
“As we went through those early months and we had the challenges that we had with the Health Department … I took the decision to send in General (John) Frewen and change the way we did it.
“It worked but I wish I’d done that earlier, and that’s a lesson.”
Mr Morrison described the night he ordered the military into a Victorian nursing home where 50 elderly residents died in 2020, as “one of the hardest” in the pandemic.
He acknowledged the problem of a “blurred” interface between the aged-care sector and hospital systems had already emerged “earlier in the pandemic,” and should have been resolved before the Victorian crisis.
“That could have been done better between both the states and ourselves,” he said.
Mr Morrison also said he believed women working in parliament would find themselves in a “situation very different” to the one former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins suffered after she was allegedly raped by a colleague in the building.
He conceded Ms Higgins and “so many” others were “let down” by previous processes, describing a new independent complaints mechanism and counselling services as a change “for the better”.
“I believe (parliament is) safer today than it was a year ago because of those changes and the brave stands that people have taken on these issues,” he said.
The Prime Minister was also pushed to explain how he would address the rising cost of living with home ownership, petrol and other expenses increasingly out of reach. Mr Morrison said the price hikes were why good economic management “was more important than ever”.
“How you manage inflation, principally, is particularly how you manage the national finances – they are things we have control over,” he said.
Mr Morrison also outlined his ambitious goal to get Australia’s unemployment down to a three in front of it by the second half of 2022, which would be the lowest rate since 1974.
He denied the government was not properly funding the NDIS and said the government remained committed to it.
SA: 1266 NEW CASES, THREE DEATHS
South Australia has recorded 1266 new Covid-19 cases and three deaths over the past 24 hours, as the premier flagged the resumption of all elective surgery.
Stopping all elective surgery was one of the many restrictions implemented when the state was hit by the Omicron wave.
As the daily number of new cases continues to decrease, Steven Marshall said authorities were “very close” to making an announcement about easing the temporary ban with a decision possibly made later today.
“We had a meeting on this yesterday and we’ve got a further meeting after I finish this press conference,” he said.
“I think we’re on track to be easing elective surgery (restrictions) in a sensible way.”
It was just last Friday that elective surgery for children was permitted to resume.
Two years on from when the pandemic began, Mr Marshall reminisced and said South Australians should be proud of the way they had worked together to tackle the situation.
He also thanked all frontline healthcare workers and acknowledged their “extraordinary” work despite them being under “enormous pressure”.
“The last two years have been an extraordinarily tough time for all.
“I think there is an opportunity to look forward with optimism.
“Certainly after Omicron came there was increased anxiety about where this was heading, We’re now past that peak and although there is still much more work to be done by SA Health … every single person in SA can hold their head high for a job well done.”
On Monday there were 1505 new infections and six deaths.
Hospitalisations have again decreased to 273 from 281, with 22 people in intensive care and five on ventilators.
AUSSIE VERDICT ON PANDEMIC’S HANDLING
Australians expect there will be more Covid disruptions this year but believe the pandemic is being better managed here than overseas.
An exclusive Newspoll shows 52 per cent of voters don’t believe they will have normalcy in their lives by the end of 2022 amid warnings Omicron could peak in winter. Victorian (56 per cent) and NSW (51 per cent) voters particularly hold that view.
But on a lighter note, 48 per cent of Australians said we handled the pandemic better than other countries. Another 25 per cent believe it has been worse and 25 per cent said it has been about the same.
In general, most voters (55 per cent) said they are optimistic about Australia’s future compared to those that felt pessimistic (40 per cent), the Newspoll for The Australian found.
It comes as Australia is due to pass the 50 million dose mark.
“What that means is that Australians have been coming forward at the rate of approximately seven million over the course of January, vastly more than expected. A real tribute to everybody involved,” Health Minister Greg Hunt said on Monday.
The minister announced Australia is considering giving a fourth Covid-19 vaccine dose to certain people.
He said “older Australians and perhaps those working with vulnerable patients” may be in line for a fourth dose.
“That’s still under active medical consideration, but the supplies and logistics are in place to deliver that if it’s required,” he said.
Four million more Australians can now get their Covid-19 booster jabs with the gap between second and third doses cut to three months from Monday.
Earlier this month, Israel’s Prime Minister said a fourth dose of Covid-19 vaccine would be offered to people aged over 60 years and to medical staff due to the surge in Omicron variant infections.
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