Australian regulator supports Pfizer vaccine for children aged 5-11 Reuters

Author: Lidia Kelly

MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Australia’s drug regulator has tentatively approved it on Sunday Pfizer The Coronavirus Vaccine Inc. (NYSE 🙂 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11, the health minister said, could be extended from Jan. 10.

The Therapeutics Goods Administration has “made a thorough and thorough assessment that it is safe and effective and in the best interests of children and Australians to vaccinate children aged 5 to 11,” said Health Minister Greg Hunt.

Following initial delays with COVID-19’s general vaccination program, Australia has become one of the fastest growing countries in the world, with 88% of Australians over the age of 16 receiving two doses.

The large-scale vaccination has helped slow the spread of the virus and promote a rapid economic recovery, with the government planning to raise its growth forecast for 2022 within a week.

The effectiveness of vaccines against the new variant of Omicron, which is spreading in Australia, is unknown.

The most populous state, New South Wales, reported two more Omicron cases on Sunday, bringing the total to 15 cases, and the Australian Capital Territory confirmed the latter.

The House of Commons was closed to the public until further notice on the weekend after a lawmaker tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday following the last annual parliamentary meeting.

A variant of this case of infection has not been disclosed, but health authorities said the staff were fully vaccinated.

Although nationwide vaccinations are voluntary, states and territories have ordered multi-profession shootings, and some require a full vaccination for most hospitality services and non-essential retailers.

The overall immunization coverage for children in Australia is also among the highest in the world, with 95% of 5-year-olds vaccinated with age-appropriate vaccines, health data show.

The Pfizer vaccine for these children still needs the approval of the Australian Immunization Technical Advisory Group. Once approved, it will be available to about 2.3 million children between the ages of 5 and 11.

Despite a number of outbreaks this year, the month-long blockade of Sydney and Melbourne – Australia’s largest cities – has confirmed only 834 COVID-19 cases and 7.9 deaths per 100,000 people, according to the World Health Organization. toll in many other developed nations.

Australia has had a total of less than 217,000 cases and 2,042 deaths.