Australia’s drug regulator approves Pfizer vaccine for children 5-11

Australia’s drug regulator on Sunday approved Pfizer Inc. With the coronavirus vaccine provisionally approved, the health minister said the rollout could start from January 10.

“They [the Therapeutics Goods Administration] A careful, thorough evaluation has been done, Health Minister Greg Hunt said, having determined it is safe and effective and is in the best interests of children 5 to 11 and Australia’s children.

After initial delays with its usual COVID-19 vaccination programme, Australia has rapidly become one of the most vaccinated countries in the world, with health data showing that around 88% of Australians over the age of 16 have Now got two doses.

While nationwide vaccinations are voluntary, shots are mandatory for many businesses in states and territories, and some require full vaccinations to access most hospitality services and non-essential retail.

According to opinion polls, anti-vaccination supporters in Australia are in the single digits, although they have held frequent weekly rallies against the health measures in Melbourne and other cities.

Health data shows that Australia’s overall childhood vaccination coverage is also among the highest in the world, with 95% of 5-year-olds getting the recommended vaccines for their age.

The Pfizer vaccine for those children still needs approval from the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (ATAGI). Once approved, it will be available to approximately 2.3 million children aged 5 to 11.

Despite battling multiple outbreaks this year, Sydney and Melbourne – Australia’s biggest cities in lockdown for months – have only 834 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). cases and 7.9 deaths per 100,000 people. ), a fraction of the tolls in many other developed countries.

Australia has reported a total of 2,15,000 cases and 2,042 deaths.