The Morrison government says it will be ready to roll out Pfizer jabs to children younger than 12 should Australia’s medicines regulator give the green light.
Pfizer has sought emergency approval in the US to administer a lower dose to children aged between 5 and 11 following successful trials.
When asked how soon it could be approved in Australia, Defence Minister Peter Dutton said evidence showed COVID-19 did not affect children in the same was as adults.
“It is not a political decision. We have the TGA (Therapeutic Goods Administration) and all sorts of approval processes,” he told the Nine Network on Friday.
“They don’t approve vaccines without the most rigorous testing and we should take heart from that.
“If they approve it, then the government will act on that straightaway but it’s a decision for the scientists.”
The government last month invited Pfizer to apply to the TGA for approval to vaccinate children as young as five.
Deputy opposition leader Richard Marles urged the government to get its skates on.
“We do need to be ready for that approval coming onboard around making sure that is an option for parents in this country,” he said.
Meanwhile, Queensland and Western Australia have been urged to boost their vaccination rates.
They on Thursday became the last states to reach 50 per cent vaccination thresholds for over-16s.
Mr Dutton warned relatively COVID-free parts of Australia could not stay that way indefinitely.
“Thinking that you could lock down and pretend like it’s not going to come to Queensland or not going to come to Mackay or into Perth or Fremantle is a complete nonsense,” he said.
Nationally, nearly 60 per cent of over-16s are fully vaccinated.
NSW has reached a 70 per cent double-dose rate, after recording 587 new local cases and a further eight deaths on Thursday.
The ACT is hot on the heels of NSW’s vaccination rates after reporting 41 new cases.
Fully vaccinated federal politicians will not have to quarantine for two weeks ahead of parliament returning from October 18.
Victoria has vaccinated more than 55 per cent of its over-16s and recorded 1638 new cases.
AAP
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