Eleven-year-old June Tattam was excited and nervous as she prepared for her first Pfizer shot this morning.

Adult Canberrans are 98.5 per cent fully vaccinated, and many have already had their booster – but today was the first day their five- to 11-year-old children could be vaccinated.

“It’s a relief to be here,” said June’s mother, Emma Nikolic, accompanying her daughter to the AIS arena mass vaccination clinic.

June was the last in her family to be vaccinated, and the family has been cautious the last couple of weeks, but Ms Nikolic can now relax, knowing her daughter will be vaccinated before she goes back to school.

“We had an unvaccinated person in our family, and I wanted to make sure that we don’t put [my elderly parents] at risk, as well,” she said.

“We haven’t locked ourselves in; we’ve lived our lives … but we’ve been mindful about big gatherings, made sure that we’re wearing masks when indoors, and doing all we can to keep us all safe.”

Australia’s leading vaccination advisory group, ATAGI, approved the Pfizer vaccine for five- to 11-year-old children last month; children will receive two paediatric doses of a Pfizer vaccine, eight weeks apart. (A Moderna vaccine is being assessed.)

This Pfizer vaccine is specially formulated for children, and is one-third the dosage for people 12 and older.

Vaccination bookings opened before Christmas, and the AIS clinic has been booked out for the next two weeks.

The first 400 children were vaccinated this morning – the first of some 45,000 children now eligible.

“So far, so good,” said Brendan Higgins, clinical nurse consultant with Canberra Health Services. “The team’s come together well; it’s good to see people coming through, getting vaccines and boosters; it’s going as planned.”

The AIS clinic can vaccinate 1,000 children a day, or 7,000 a week, at first. ACT Government clinics will have enough supply of vaccine for 13,000 people a week.

Mr Higgins encouraged parents to get their booster shots at the same time their children get their vaccinations.

“It means parents can show kids it’s OK to get a needle, they shouldn’t be scared, and they’re doing a really good job for the community,” he said.

Good communication was important, he thought: explaining what vaccination meant, why they were getting vaccinated, and how they were protecting themselves, their grandparents, and everyone around them.

“Vaccination is not just for us, but for our whole community, and it’s for those people who are more vulnerable, and for those people who maybe can’t get vaccinated… We all have a job to do to protect each other,” Ms Nikolic said.

Children’s vaccinations are available at the AIS arena COVID-19 vaccination clinic and the Access and Sensory clinic in Weston Creek, and at participating GPs and pharmacies.

For more information, or to book an appointment, visit https://www.covid19.act.gov.au/stay-safe-and-healthy/vaccine/covid-19-vaccines-for-children