Children aged between five and 11 will be able to get their COVID-19 vaccinations from this coming Monday as the nation continues to grapple with the spread of the Omicron and Delta variants.
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The vaccine advisory group, ATAGI, has recommended the Pfizer dose for more than two million children. Theirs will be a third of the adult dose and will be delivered in two shots spaced eight weeks apart.
"The interval of the doses can be shortened to a minimum of three weeks in some special circumstances," said Professor Alison MacMillan, the Australian Government's Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer.
"But at the moment it will be eight weeks between the first and the second dose."
Clinics and GPs are now taking bookings via the online COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic Finder.
So Australian Community Media turned to the state and federal health experts to answer some of the questions parents might have about vaccinating young children.
Here are their answers:
Does a smaller dose mean reduced efficacy?
In a word, no.
The vaccine dose has been specifically measured out so that it will be the most effective amount for young (and smaller) bodies.
It will have the same effect on a child as the full Pfizer dose will have on an adult.
"The vaccine dose approved by the [Therapeutic Goods Administration] for children aged five to 11, it's the same safe and effective vaccine used in people twelve and above," Professor MacMillan said.
"The only difference that that it's a third of the vaccine dose that's given to people 12 and over."
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Associate Professor Tom Connell, Chief of Medicine at the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne explained that Australia will be at the added benefit of being able to see how children of other countries have responded to vaccination.
"The vaccine works. It works in children aged five to 11," Professor Connell said.
"Studies about the original vaccine trial showed that the vaccine was 91 per cent effective at reducing laboratory confirmed COVID-19 symptomatic diagnosis in children.
"That's a very effective vaccination."
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Could a child accidentally be given the adult dose?
To ensure that the right dose is given to children, Professor MacMillan explained that there will be some additional safety measures put in place across clinics and GPs.
"The Pfizer vaccine for five- to 11-year-olds will be distributed through vaccine providers in different packaging to distinguish it from the adult dose, which helps keep everyone safe with that extra quality control," Professor MacMillan said.
"As with all age groups and everyone, we know that getting vaccine significantly reduces the risk of severe disease and hospitalisation."
Should an 11-year-old wait until their next birthday before booking in?
Professor MacMillan advises against waiting until an 11-year-old turns 12.
Book an appointment as soon as it's possible to do so.
The difference in the vaccine efficacy is minimal, she said, but the likelihood of contracting the virus in that time is high.
"There's really no need to wait until an 11-year-old becomes 12 as there won't be any or much or any difference between the response to get at 11 or 12 to the vaccine," Professor MacMillan said.
"The risk is that if you wait and don't vaccinate them, of course, they could catch COVID in that time and that could make them quite unwell."
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Do children experience side effects from the vaccine?
In most cases, the side effects are minimal and not unlike those commonly experienced by the adult population.
"Sore arms at the site of injection is the most common complaint amongst younger children," said Dr Matthew O'Meara, NSW chief paediatrician.
"But the headache, muscle aches, fever, chills, and nausea that we adults have often felt are really pretty uncommon in children and can get managed with the usual pain relieving medications.
"The serious side effects like myocarditis that happen mainly in older teenagers we haven't seen in young children, so we think it's a very safe, effective, and reliable vaccine."
If the virus is less severe in children, should they be vaccinated at all?
"Parents may be weighing up the risks and the benefits of giving their young children a vaccine," Dr O'Meara said.
Generally, COVID is a mild disease in children and at least as far as we've seen around the world, a lot of children have no symptoms at all.
Many children will experience a mild cough, runny nose and fever that will last up to five days, but which is treatable with the usual rest, fluids, and mild pain relievers.
"A few children can become very unwell, and data from earlier strains in largely unvaccinated children in NSW showed that between one or two in every 100 children would need to go to hospital," Dr O'Meara said.
"About one in 1000 would end up in intensive care, and about one in 3000 will develop a serious inflammatory condition two years after having COVID.
"We expect those numbers to be lower with the [Omicron] strain, but it's still not entirely benign disease."
As with adults, the children that are more at risk of developing severe illness are those who have underlying medical conditions or who are immunosuppresed.
But even if a child does not have any pre-existing conditions, there is still a chance they will become very ill from the virus.
"About a third of kids who ended up in hospital didn't have any risk factors, so COVID can be a severe disease in a small number of children," Dr O'Maera said.
"So it's worthwhile getting the best protection you can and that's getting vaccinated."