Sydney: Australia will begin managing the Covid-19 vaccine for children aged 5 to 11 years from January 10, Scott Morrison’s Prime Minister said on Friday, after the launch of the final rules.
“This will be a welcome news for millions of families throughout the country who want the opportunity for their children to be vaccinated,” Morrison said in a statement.
After reviewing the clinical data from Canada, the state vaccination adviser group recommends eight week intervals between two doses, which can be shortened to three weeks if there is an outbreak.
The PFIZER dose will be given in the initial phase, while the regulator assesses the suitability of the moderna shot.
The decision is expected in the coming weeks.
The decision arose when Australia tried to accelerate the launch of Booster Shots after becoming one of the most vaccinated countries in the world against Covid-19, inoculating almost 90% of the population above 16 doses.
About 70% of children aged 12 to 15 have been fully vaccinated.
Authorities have urged people to take booster shots who care about the new omicron variant and more transmitting amid increasing infection in Sydney, the largest city in Australia.
New South Wales State, which includes Sydney, reported 516 new cases on Friday, the biggest increase in two months.
Mostly caused by the Delta variant but the number of Omicron infections has crawled since Australia reported its first case about two weeks ago.
About 50 cases have been detected so far, the majority in Sydney.
Australia has reported around 225,000 Covid-19 cases and 2,084 deaths, far fewer than many countries are comparable.