Moderna vaccine to be approved for under-18s in Australia by September

The Moderna vaccine could be approved for under 18-year-olds by the time it lands on Australian shores, the head of the TGA has revealed.

The Moderna vaccine could be approved for under 18-year-olds by the time it lands on Australian shores, the head of the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has said.

The Prime Minister announced yesterday that the vaccine had been provisionally approved, with first jabs expected in arms from the middle of September onward. Australia is expecting an estimated 10 million Moderna doses by the end of the year, joining the AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines in the nation’s Covid-19 arsenal.

“Today, we have been given the green light to take another important step forward to implement our national plan on the path forward out of Covid-19. The Therapeutic Goods Administration has given provisional approval for the use of Moderna for Australians aged 18 and over,” Scott Morrison told reporters from Parliament House.

“This means we have an additional 25 million doses of Moderna to add to the 125 million Pfizer doses and 53 million AstraZeneca doses we’ve already started rolling out.”

And while there’s no approval yet for clinical trials on children aged under 12, it could be approved for Aussies under the age of 18 in a matter of weeks, TGA head, John Skerritt, told ABC Radio Melbourne’s Drive program on Tuesday afternoon.

“Moderna has its application in front of us for under-18s,” Professor Skerritt revealed.

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The Moderna vaccine could be approved for under 18-year-olds by the time it lands on Australian shores, the head of the Therapeutic Goods Administration has said. Picture: Joseph Prezioso/AFP

“Over the next three to four weeks, I‘d say maximum – it depends on Moderna’s response – we expect to make a decision.

“The Moderna data also looks pretty good for the under-18s, but we‘ve obviously got to go to our committee of experts and then back to the company.

“Barring big problems, I‘m expecting that by the time Moderna lands in Australia, it may also be approved for under-18s, but I shouldn’t pre-empt that decision.”

The only jab that has currently been approved for teenagers in Australia is the Pfizer vaccine. Like Moderna, it’s an MRNA vaccine that comes in two doses. It can be administered 28 days apart – which is substantially faster than the 12-week wait between the first and second dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine (this advice has since changed in light of recent outbreaks).

“The only major difference between the two vaccines is that Moderna can be kept at minus 20 degrees rather than minus 70 like the Pfizer. It appears to have the same efficacy, similar side effects,” infectious diseases expert Dr Peter Collignon told news.com.au.

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The approval of the vaccine will help protect younger people who have largely been at risk during the pandemic, Dr Peter Collignon said. Picture: William West/AFP

The approval of the vaccine will help protect younger people who have largely been at risk during the pandemic, Dr Collignon added, though he said that “currently any vaccine you can get is good”.

“There is obviously the tiny risk of clotting with the AstraZeneca vaccine and that small risk grows the younger the person is,” he said.

“If you have a lot of vaccines, which we do not, you would prefer the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine for those under the age of 40 and give AstraZeneca to those who are older than that age.

“But there is a worldwide shortage so that is not going to happen for a while. Any vaccine that you can get is a good, safe vaccine.”

Appearing on The Today Show on Tuesday morning, Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt said Moderna is “another really important vaccine”.

“Ten million vaccines are contracted, scheduled, expected for this year. The first million are due in the second half of September, and then three million a month [in] October, November, December.

“What does it all mean? It means another highly safe, highly effective vaccine that will help ensure that every Australian who seeks to be vaccinated this year can be vaccinated this year.”