Plan to vax all Victorian teenagers in 2021

DANIEL Andrews has committed to giving all Victorian high school students at least one Covid jab by the end of this year, as pressure mounts around returning students to the classroom.

The state has expanded its vaccine program, making every Victorian over the age of 16 eligible for a vaccine at state-run vaccination centres.

The Premier said he wanted all students over the age of 12 to have at least one dose by the end of the school year.

“We made it clear (at national cabinet) that it is our intention to have at least those kids with a first dose, children and young adults with a first dose,” he said on Tuesday.

“If we can do better than that then we will by the end of this school year.”

The Victorian government closed schools this month as the Delta variant ripped through the community.

There is growing concern the variant is severely affecting younger age groups and behaving differently among young people than previous strains of the virus. The state has seen the virus get into schools and spread from one student to another, which was rare with previous strains.

But Mr Andrews said vaccination programs through schools would offer a unique and trusted platform.

“It’s not an easy task, it is a significant number of jabs to get into arms,” he said. “But the number of people who are quite young who are in hospital and have got this is, I think, it’s very, very concerning.”

Over the next four weeks, there will be more than 830,000 appointments for vaccines at the state-run hubs.