Vaccine cleared for under sixes

AUSTRALIA’S medical regulator has provisionally approved the use of Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine for children aged under six.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration examined a North American clinical trial before making its decision on infants and children.

Its decision is a “first step” towards allowing the jab and “indicates that the vaccine has met high safety, quality and efficacy standards”, the TGA said.

It will now be up to the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) to recommend to the government whether or not to proceed with vaccinating young children.

Health Minister Mark Butler (pictured) said sourcing enough doses of the vaccine would be another hurdle to overcome.

“As you can imagine, there is fierce competition by countries in North America, Europe and other parts of the world to get their hands on this very limited supply,” Mr Butler said.

“I’ve reported before that my department is in active negotiations right now with Moderna for Australia to secure as many doses as we possibly can from this very limited global supply.”

Moderna’s product, called Spikevax, has until now only allowed for people aged over six to be vaccinated.

Those people can get two doses of the vaccine, 28 days apart.

People over 18 can also get it as a booster.

After Tuesday’s announcement, children as young as six months could be able to get the vaccine.

Those under six years old will be recommended two Moderna doses.

The concentration of the vaccine’s active ingredient will be lower in doses given to small children.

The North American trial was conducted across several sites and involved 6000 participants aged between six months and six years old.

“The study demonstrated that the immune response to the vaccine in children was similar to that seen in young adults (18 to 25 years) with a favourable safety profile,” the TGA said.

“Clinical trials also showed that the safety profile in children is similar to that seen in adults.”

Health experts have renewed a call for Australians to take preventive measures after hundreds of thousands of people caught Covid in the last week. But the true case numbers are likely to be double the official 300,000 figure, Mr Butler warned.

Chief medical officer Paul Kelly told reporters in Canberra the “threat” of the BA. 4 and BA. 5 Omicron sub variants required the increased alarm.

“The reason for that is because it’s much more infectious than earlier variants … and it’s also very good at escaping immunity,” he said.

Hospitals and healthcare workers are struggling under the strain of increased admissions during the ongoing wave.

Professor Kelly urged Australians to do everything in their power to stop the spread – including vaccines.

But not enough people have been lining up to receive their third or fourth dose of the Covid vaccine, Mr Butler conceded.

“Over the last seven days only 50,000 or so Australians received their third dose. The third dose rate just isn’t shifting fast enough,” he told reporters in Canberra.

Masks have been strongly encouraged but not mandated.

“I really very strongly suggest that you do wear masks … This will not be forever but for the next few weeks,” Professor Kelly said.

Meanwhile, the government has confirmed it is in talks with the Defence Force to expand the aged care workforce amid the surge.