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‘We’re really concerned’: Students under-vaccinated ahead of school term
The rate of school children receiving a COVID-19 vaccination is too low, Queensland Health Minister Yvette D’Ath warns as the state predicts a spread of the virus in classrooms within weeks.
The state has seen 74.6 per cent of 12-to-15-year-olds come forward for their first dose while 66.61 per cent were fully vaccinated.
Queensland Health Minister Yvette D’Ath.Credit: Matt Dennien
Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said this should be higher as the beginning of the first school term of the year was creeping closer.
“Now these teenagers will be going back to school, face to face, in a couple of weeks,” she said.
“We’re really concerned that those numbers are lower than what our adult vaccination rates are.
“They should be at the same rate now.
“It’s great to see our five-to-11-year-olds vaccinated – that’s one in four – but I’d love to see parents and guardians and carers coming forward with their children of all ages who are eligible and getting them vaccinated as quickly as possible before the start of the school year.”
Chief Health Officer Dr John Gerrard said children who contracted COVID-19 would develop a mild illness.
“The virus will spread in schools,” he said. “The vast majority of children who acquire this virus [will] have a mild illness.
“There will be a small number that will get a significant complication from this virus just because of the sheer numbers involved. That’s almost inevitable.
“There are rare complications of this virus in children, but they’re rare.”
Of children aged between 5 and 11 in Queensland, 25.72 per cent were vaccinated.
The state delayed the beginning of the first school term by two weeks, moving the date to February 7 except for year 11 and 12 students, who will begin home learning from January 31.
NSW students will return to classrooms from February 1.
Five million rapid antigen tests were distributed to schools so far in NSW with more to come.
Students in Victoria would return to classrooms on January 31 and expected to have 6.6 million rapid antigen tests delivered in the first week of term.
NSW and Victorian students would be required to take at least two rapid tests each week when school returns to avoid school closures.
When asked about Queensland’s return to school plan, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the state plan would be released in coming days.
“Schools go back in two weeks’ time. The priority is to get kids vaccinated,” she said.
Ms Palaszcuk said there was currently no health advice for school children returning to classrooms but wanted the state to take its time to “get the plan right for Queenslanders”.
“Their plans were released because they’re actually going back so there was urgency,” she said.
“But I want to make sure we get the plan right for Queenslanders and, as I said, there is no health advice at the moment that says that children need to be tested, from either Chief Health Officer or Australian Health Protection Principal Committee.
“I want to consider that in detail and make sure we get it right for the parents and students of this state.”