The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) on Thursday announced it had approved the use of Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine after carefully considering data from a clinical trial in Canada and the United States involving 4000 kids.“The study demonstrated that the immune response to the vaccine in children was similar to that seen in older age groups,” the TGA stated in its decision.“Clinical trials also showed that the safety profile in children is similar to that seen in adults.“The most frequent adverse events seen in clinical trials in children aged 6-11 years were short-term and included injection site pain, redness and/or swelling, axillary (groin) swelling or tenderness, fatigue, headache, fever and muscle pain.”The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) will need to greenlight the jab before it can be offered to children as young as six.The Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine remains the only jab for five-year-olds.The Moderna Covid-19 jab for children involves two doses administered 28 days apart, though the volume of the dose is half that administered to people older than 12.Nationally, a total of 48 per cent of children aged five to 11 have received at least on dose of a Covid-19 vaccine. Meanwhile, Queensland, NSW and Victoria recorded 24,161 Covid cases and 62 deaths in the last 24 hours.Queensland recorded 39 new deaths and 5665 Covid cases in the most recent 24-hour reporting period.Of the 39 deaths, all were over 50. Chief health officer Dr Gerrard said the deaths date back to January and do not indicate a daily increase. “The data shows clearly shows that the number of deaths from Covid have been falling steadily since the last week of January as we have past the peak,” he said. Queensland hospitalisations continue to fall as the state records 382 people in public hospitals. There are currently 33 Covid patients in ICU – 17 are on ventilators. A total of 3196 rapid antigen tests were taken across the state on Thursday. Children aged five to 17 made up 1668 of the 5665 Covid cases – down from the 1905 recorded on Wednesday. Chief health officer John Gerrard said the daily case increase on Wednesday among children had increased by more than 300 since Tuesday when there were 1587 new infections.“The biggest concern when children get infected is to their parents and their grandparents,” he said.Queensland Health Minister Yvette D’Ath labelled the increase in schools “a difficult time”.Hospitalisations in children are yet to increase.Queensland parents have been urged to get their children vaccinated as schools continue to report increased Covid cases. Meanwhile, NSW has recorded 9995 new cases of Covid-19 and 14 deaths on Thursday as the state moves closer to relaxing restrictions.The update from NSW Health is a slight drop in infections after the state recorded 10,463 cases on Wednesday and 8201 on Tuesday.Hospitalisations are continuing to fall with 1447 patients now in hospital, including 92 in ICU.On Wednesday there were 1478 people in hospital. The number of people in ICU remains the same.Of Thursday’s new cases, 5747 results were from rapid antigen tests and 4248 were the result of PCR.Across the state, 94.2 per cent of people aged over 16 have had two doses of the Covid-19 vaccine, and 49.7 per cent are triple vaccinated.Meanwhile, 83.5 per cent of children aged 12 to 15 have had one dose of a vaccine and 78.9 per cent are fully vaccinated.Of children aged five to 11, 46 per cent have received a Covid-19 jab.The current Covid-19 restrictions across the state are set to end on February 28, including mandatory QR check-in requirements for pubs, clubs and bars.The rules also include indoor mask mandates, density limits and a ban on singing and dancing.Check-in rules at venues such as supermarkets, offices and retail shops are also due to expire come February 28.Meanwhile, Victoria has recorded 8501 new cases and nine Covid deaths in the past 24 hours.There are now 401 infected people in Victorian hospitals, with 78 in intensive care and 16 on ventilators.More than 93 per cent of eligible Victorians are fully vaccinated and the state has 50,042 active cases.A total of 23,683 PCR tests were taken on Wednesday and 9,356 vaccines were administered at state hubs. Premier Daniel Andrews also revealed on Thurday that a bevy of Covid restrictions are set to be scrapped in Victoria.He said the changes would come into play from Friday at 6pm.Density limits in hospitality and entertainment venues will end and indoor dancefloors are set to reopen. QR codes in retail, schools and childcare centres will no longer be needed. Masks will remain compulsory indoors and rules around working from home will remain in place until at least next Friday.Hotel quarantine requirements for unvaccinated international travellers will also change, with the isolation period set to change to seven days instead of 14.The decision to ease rules has been attributed to the number of infected people in hospital more than halving over the past month.“We have made it very clear that we will do everything we can to normalise this virus – to push beyond it to get as close to normal living normal activity as we could possibly achieve,” Mr Andrews said. “That’s always based on health advice. It’s always based on science and the numbers of the day and trends that we see numbers of people in hospital for instance.“But having seen Omicron peak, and in seeing the numbers continue to fall over these last few weeks, the Minister has made a number of decisions.”
Powered by WPeMatico
