Andrews government won’t rule out jab mandates for kids

Chief health officer Brett Sutton has been accused of a breach of ethics, as the fallout continues over Victoria’s decision to lock unvaccinated children out of most public venues.

The Victorian government has left the door open to imposing vaccine mandates on kids aged from five to 11, despite backflipping on bans that would have stopped older children attending their own school graduations.

Authorities also appeared to wind back the mandate after thousands of unvaccinated kids were locked out of community sport at the weekend.

But the state government has not ruled out applying the mandates – which lock unvaccinated people out of hospitality venues, retail and major events – to kids aged five to 11, should the vaccine be approved for the age group.

The federal government has already indicated it will reject no-jab, no-play rules, and Scott Morrison has urged the states to ease existing mandates as vaccination rates rise.

Victorian Health Minister Martin Foley said he was waiting on advice from the Therapeutic Goods Administration and the national expert immunisation panel about whether jabs for younger kids were “safe and effective”.

Asked if Victoria intended to mandate the vaccine for children aged five to 11 for particular activities, he said: “We’ll always consult with childhood health experts and consider the best interests of our children before making any decision.

“We’re confident we’ll see strong take-up among those aged 5-11 when the commonwealth says it is safe to do so.”

A girl receives the Pfizer jab in the US, where the coronavirus vaccine has been approved for children aged from five to 11. Picture: Getty Images

COATSWORTH SLAMS VICTORIA AGAIN

Former deputy chief medical officer Nick Coatsworth has lashed the Victorian government for introducing mandates for teenage children to enter some premises.

“In Victoria in particular, the chief health officer is breaching the fundamental ethical principle of autonomy in differential treatment of unvaccinated 12-15 year olds,’’ he said.

“It is of deep concern that Victorian public health officials are making these decisions, and is prima facie evidence why the pandemic Bill in Victoria requires more opportunities for parliamentary oversight and administrative appeals against these decisions.

“There is no need for this policy when the vulnerable age groups are well in excess of 90 per cent vaccinated.”

But Covid commander Jeroen Weimar said people would “have to have been living under a rock” to not realise the new rules were coming into force and that nearly 90 per cent of teenagers were vaccinated anyway.“I guess I don’t have much sympathy for that argument,” Mr Weimar said.

Dr Coatsworth, who was the “face” of the nation’s Covid response and vaccine rollout campaign in taxpayer-funded advertisements, has also called on state governments to exempt children from mandatory vaccination laws, warning there is emerging evidence that getting jabbed should remain a choice for parents of under 12s.

Read the full story here.

Former deputy chief medical officer Dr Nick Coatsworth has urged caution.

BACKFLIP ON LOCKOUT FOR UNVAXXED KIDS

Fallout is continuing from Thursday’s snap decision to bar unvaccinated children aged 12 years and two months to 15 years from entering most public venues.

Following an outcry from parents, as revealed by the Herald Sun, the Department of Education on Sunday exempted school-organised activities where a teacher is present.

It also backtracked on a plan to offer rapid antigen tests at schools where an outbreak has occurred, instead offering them for free to education-based primary close contacts at PCR testing sites.

Health authorities also appeared to backflip on the vaccination rules surrounding community sport.

While community sport was exempt from the mandate, a health directive said the exemption only applied to premises where “space is being operated only for the purpose of conducting a community sport activity”.

That meant gyms and recreation centres used for multiple activities turned kids away – a situation one parents described as a “farce”.

Jells Park Primary School captain Anastasia with a rapid antigen test kit Picture Ian Currie

“Our children turned up to play basketball but were turned away in tears on the weekend at GESAC (Glen Eira Sports and Aquatic Centre) with no warning,” she said.

But in a statement on Monday night, the Department of Health told the Herald Sun: “Vaccination requirements do not apply to people involved in community sport, including players – even if the training or game is happening at a venue where vaccination ­requirements ordinarily apply, such as a gym or recreational centre.”

However, Basketball Victoria – the state’s peak body with 160 affiliated associations – has announced that unvaccinated children aged older than 12 years and two months will not be able to play at any venue from November 26.

Basketball Victoria did an audit of its 79 venues used for junior basketball and found that 167 of a total of 252 courts were used by other patrons and thus subject to vaccination mandates from venue operators.

They decided that a “consistent approach to VJBL operations is important” which means that they “will now implement the same policy for our operated leagues, events and activities”.

The audit showed that “more than 65 per cent of venues were unable to offer the Community Sport Exemption due to the layout, operation or usage of their venues”.

The vaccine mandate includes players, coaches, technical officials, spectators, volunteers or staff attending a venue for these events.

The Basketball Victoria Facebook post notes that: “we understand this is a challenging time for families, administrators and volunteers across basketball. Please support each other as we safely navigate this return together”.

Alice Pryor of Parents’ Voice said community sport was “vitally important for the mental and physical wellbeing of children, but access must be balanced with Covid safety”.

Tina King, president of the Australian Principals’ ­Federation, said some schools were still waiting on air purifiers and trying to keep abreast of changing rules while ­‘’increasingly bearing the brunt of frustration … due to the mixed messaging from ­government”.

Parents’ Victoria chief Gail McHardy said parents should “communicate directly with their school” if unclear on any arrangements should their ­unvaccinated 12-15 year old have a coming external school activity.

Victorian students have endured two years of disrupted school terms. Picture: Getty Images

EXPERTS URGE CAUTION ON JABS

Child health experts have urged caution on the push to vaccinate primary school students, saying it may take months to know whether the risks of the Covid jab outweighed the benefits.

As Australia’s adult vaccination rate passes 90 per cent, experts also say the decision should be based on the best interests of children, rather than trying to further limit transmission of the virus.

In the US, an emergency approval has been issued for the Pfizer vaccine for children aged five to 11, based on a trial of only 1500 participants.

Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration and the expert immunisation panel are not expected to deliver their verdict until early January. Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt says the advisers would act “as quickly as possible” but did not “want to cut corners”.

A panel of experts interviewed by the Herald Sun agreed authorities needed to wait for more trial data on the safety and efficacy of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines for children.

Read the full story here.