Federal health minister Mark Butler on Wednesday revealed the government had accepted advice from Australia’s peak vaccine advisory body to open up the Covid-19 vaccine program to children aged 6 months to five years of age who were at-risk of developing severe illness. Half a million doses of the child specific Moderna vaccine have been ordered, and will roll out from September 5. Mr Butler confirmed the first order of 250,000 doses would be arriving in Australia tonight, with another 250,000 arriving later in September. There are about 70,000 young children in the age range at higher risk of developing severe illness fromCOVID-19 will be able to receive a jab. The government has flagged only a small proportion of vaccine sites will deliver this specific jab due to the particular needs of the children. Children aged 6 months to five years will get two doses eight weeks apart, with severely immunocompromised kids to get three doses total. At this stage, COVID-19 vaccination is only recommended for children aged 6months to under 5 years who are severely immunocompromised, have a disability, and those who have complex and or multiple health conditions which increase the risk of severe illness from the virus. “The Albanese Government has accepted the medical advice and made COVID-19vaccination available to our most vulnerable young children who have significanthealth conditions,” Mr Butler said. “The Australian Government has secured supplies of this new vaccine for youngerchildren and these vaccines will shortly distributed to vaccination sites.”
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