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Approval of the COVID-19 vaccine for ages 5-11 is imminent and may be rolled out in January.
Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt said the Therapeutic Goods Department and the Australian Immunotechnology Advisory Group should call on Pfizer’s pediatric doses by the end of the year.
It is understood that the first shipment will arrive in Australia before Christmas.
The process is “going in a positive direction,” Hunt said.
“(TGA) will provide that advice and ATAGI will provide the answer. With the two green lights, we expect to start pediatric administration in the first half of January.”
January 10th can be the start date for the rollout, but it can start for a week on either side.
According to Hunt, the modana booster effect for the general public is also on the card and has been confirmed by Christmas.
“I plan to get a booster within the next 10 days, so it could be a very good option to display that message,” he said.
TGA is also making progress on protein-based Novavax vaccines and may issue pre-Christmas approvals for doses available in the New Year.
ATAGI has decided not to shorten the six-month period in which it is recommended to get a booster. This is because previous boosters have not been proven to provide additional protection against Omicron variants.
Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly said it was premature to determine if this strain would result in increased hospitalization or mortality, but there is evidence that it is the same as or less severe than the current variant. be.
Australia has the potential to pass 500,000 boosters on Saturday.
Meanwhile, former Deputy Chief Medical Officer Nick Coatesworth has questioned Australia’s decision to close borders with several African countries for Omicron.
He said the policy was inconsistent as new variants were found in other countries where Australia is open-traveling.
“Omicron has proven to be in Europe as well as in southern Africa. It could have been in the Australian community,” Coatesworth told Sky News.
“We may be opening borders elsewhere in the world, and the coherence of our policy of closing travel borders to certain African countries begins to be questioned.”
Australia banned flights from nine African countries in the wake of Omicron, and then excluded Seychelles and increased it to eight.
Its emergence also led to the suspension of international students and visa holders’ return to Japan, but all other international travelers must be quarantined.
So far, 15 cases of mascot have been detected in Australia, 13 in New South Wales, 1 in the Northern Territory and 1 in ACT.
Worldwide, more than 400 cases of Omicron have been identified in 30 countries.
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