Unvaxxed kids may avoid ‘no jab, no play’ rule

The Morrison government won’t make the Covid vaccine mandatory for under 12s — but there’s still a chance a mandate will be introduced in Victoria.

Children will not be subjected to a “no jab, no play and no pay” policy if a Covid-19 vaccine is approved for those aged under 12, possibly as early as November.

Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt made the declaration on Wednesday after the nation’s drug regulator revealed that Pfizer may be approved for kids from later next month.

The US Food and Drug Administration advisory committee has endorsed a proposal for the mRNA jab to be given to 5 to 11 year olds.

Pfizer is yet to complete its application to Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration, but is expected to provide more data over the next fortnight.

Mr Hunt was asked if a no jab, no play policy – announced in 2015 to stop unvaccinated kids from attending childcare and cut off some Centrelink benefits for parents – could be enforced for Covid-19 vaccines.

He said the federal government had “no plans or expectations at this point in time”.

“I think that is likely to remain,” Mr Hunt said.

A young bog recieves a Pfizer Vaccine in America.

States could, however, enforce their own health restrictions.

Meanwhile, the US drug regulator and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still have to consider signing off on the Pfizer jab before kids can get the shot in the arm. However, this is expected to happen next week.

Therapeutic Goods Administration deputy secretary, Prof John Skerritt, said drug companies often “test the waters” in the US, before applying to regulators in Europe and other countries.

Prof Skerritt said it would take the TGA “a few weeks” to assess Pfizer’s application, adding they needed to look “even deeper” into the data to ensure it was safe for children.

“I would hope that we would get there by the end of November,” he said.

“But it really does depend on when we get the full application from Pfizer.”

Prof Skerritt said the vaccine – which contains a third of the adult dose – was trialled on a larger group, which was also monitored for longer.

“We are not seeing any red flags … but it’s very early days yet,” he said.

Australian authorities are also in talks with Moderna, which has indicated it has data on the use of its mRNA vaccine in younger age groups.

The biotech company this week revealed it would soon submit its trial data to global regulators.

The development comes after its vaccine, which administers half the dose given to adults, was found produce a strong immune response in kids aged 6-11 years.