Kids aged five to 11 won’t count towards WA’s vaccine threshold for border reopening

The West Australian government has confirmed one recent vaccine move won’t change its plan to reopen the state’s border to the rest of Australia.

The West Australian government has confirmed that the recent approval of children five and over to get the Covid-19 vaccine won’t change its plan to eventually reopen the state to the rest of Australia.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) will likely approve the Pfizer vaccine for children between the ages of five and 11 in the coming days, after reviewing health and safety data. It is expected vaccination of children between those ages will then commence on January 10, 2022.

While Australian Medical Association (AMA) WA boss Mark Duncan-Smith said the state should keep its hard border in place until that cohort have received both jabs, Education Minister Sue Ellery said it won’t impact the current threshold.

This means a date for when the hard border will come down will still be set once 80 per cent of West Australians over the age of 12 are fully vaccinated.

“We’re not going to be adding the five to 11 year-old group to the numbers that we count for [the 80 per cent threshold],” Ms Ellery told reporters on Monday.

West Australian Education Minister Sue Ellery. Picture: Richard Wainwright/AAP

Vaccination of children between five and 11 is expected to begin in early January. Picture: Andrej Ivanov/AFP

“We’re already well under way in achieving what we needed to achieve in those targets and it just wouldn’t be right to kind of change the rules part way through that.

“But I expect a really high take-up of vaccines for that five to 11-year-old group. I have lost count of the number of parents of primary school aged children who have asked me when that vaccine is going to be available.”

Dr Duncan-Smith had told The West Australian on Sunday the fact that Covid-19 was “affecting the paediatric group” in Australia’s eastern states – with 25 per cent of infections in people under the age of 19 – was a reason to include under 12s in the reopening threshold.

“This is why we need to vaccinate our kids,” he said.

The AMA WA head warned to reopen the border without children being vaccinated is ‘bordering on child abuse’. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Andrew Henshaw

“And if it does mean pushing back the date by a couple of weeks then I think all West Australians, especially the ones with children, are going to be happy to do that to see the children protected better.”

He added that vaccinated children “will be at much less risk of getting severe Covid and getting long Covid”.

“This is why months ago I said … that to open up without children being vaccinated was bordering on child abuse. I still stand by that,” Dr Duncan-Smith said.

“We’re effectively inviting this killer virus to come and live with us [when our borders reopen].”

After much backlash, Premier Mark McGowan is expected to announce WA’s reopening date – tipped for the last week of January – within days.

Premier Mark McGowan is expected to announce WA’s reopening date – tipped for the last week of January – within days. Picture: Matt Jelonek/Getty Images

In a thinly veiled swipe last week, Mr McGowan implied that the Federal Government’s response to the threat of the Omicron variant justifies his own decision to keep his state shut off from most of the country.

“I think what the Federal Government has done is a fair enough measure, I support it,” he told reporters last Tuesday.

“It turns out that borders and measures to keep people out who might be infected work.”

The Premier previously said that uncertainty around Omicron meant nothing was set in stone, adding it was “important Western Australia has strong protections in place for states which have relaxed their international borders”.

“NSW no longer has a hotel quarantine system. It is a big risk and that is why we have had a very cautious approach about other states,” he said.

“Borders are effective. If you stop the flow of people coming in you virtually eliminate the prospect of the virus getting here. Being cautious works. Being adventurous doesn’t.”