Children aged 5-11 fall behind expected vaccination rate
Victoria has recorded 8162 Covid cases and 20 deaths, while the Andrews government has set an ambitious vaccine target for primary school students.
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Victoria has recorded 8162 Covid cases and 20 deaths on Tuesday.
There are 441 people in Victorian hospitals with Covid, 67 are in intensive care and 14 are on ventilators.
Education Minister James Merlino expected 80 per cent of primary school children to have had one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine by now, but only about 53 per cent of those aged 5-11 have done so.
Victoria on Monday recorded 7104 new Covid cases and two more deaths.
Transcripts of talks between public health officials, Mr Merlino and Health Minister Martin Foley show at the end of January the state believed it would hit the high first-dose threshold for primary school children this week.
But uptake among those aged 5-11 has slowed compared with the first weeks after it became available to this age bracket.
It is understood the Department of Health provided Mr Merlino with the projection of when primary school kids would hit 80 per cent based on assumptions an early spike in demand would stay consistent.
A state government spokesman said more than half children this age had received their first doses in just over a month, and called for more families to come forward.
“On top of the thousand-plus GPs and pharmacies administering the Covid-19 vaccine for children as part of the commonwealth’s program, we’ve built a state-run vaccination system that’s easier to access than anywhere else in the country,” he said.
“So there are many options available for parents to ensure their children are as protected as possible.
“We’re also supporting the commonwealth’s vaccination efforts by delivering a statewide education and promotional campaign for parents and kids, targeting families who may experience language or social barriers to getting vaccinated, funding GPs and pharmacies through grant programs, and establishing vaccination centres at schools, zoos and other places children and families gather.
“While there’s more work to do, all Victorian children and their parents should be proud of our efforts so far.”
Almost 5000 children have been booked for vaccines at state-run centres, which receive about a third of the state’s supply of paediatric vaccines.
Opposition health spokeswoman Georgie Crozier said increasing the uptake required educating and informing the community.
“We don’t need any more restrictions and mandates, we just need the government to deliver what they promise to deliver so Victorians can get on with their lives,” she said.
In the same meeting, chief health officer Brett Sutton said he did not think the dose interval for children aged 5-11 would be cut from eight weeks.
There are 465 people in hospital with Covid in Victoria, with 66 in intensive care and 18 on ventilators.
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