A significant change was made to the Australian Immunisation Handbook regarding COVID-19 vaccines, which was last updated on 3 June 2025 by the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI):

“COVID-19 vaccine is not recommended for healthy infants, children or adolescents who do not have medical conditions that increase their risk of severe illness. This is because the risk of severe illness was extremely low in this cohort over the course of the pandemic, and benefits of vaccination are not considered to outweigh the potential harms.”

The Australian Medical Association was contacted for comment and has not responded at the time of publishing.

However, according to the Australian Medical Professionals Society (AMPS):

“COVID-19 poses a minimal threat to healthy children, and this change aligns with international trends toward re-evaluating the use of these vaccines in younger populations.”

Canberra Weekly contacted the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), to request details on the specific risks this updated statement refers to. A TGA spokesperson provided the following:

“Up-to-date information regarding all COVID-19 vaccines, including details of known potential side effects (also known as adverse events), can be found in the Product Information (PI) and Consumer Medicine Information (CMI) documents for each vaccine. PIs (for health professionals) and CMIs (for consumers) are freely available on the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) website at: tga.gov.au/products/australian-register-therapeutic-goods-artg.”

The COVID-19 vaccines available to infants, children and adolescents under 18 in Australia, include Comirnaty JN.1 and Comirnaty Omicron XBB. 1.5.

Some of the listed side effects for Comirnaty JN.1 and Comirnaty Omicron XBB.1.5 include headache, fever, fatigue, pain at the injection site, nausea, vomiting, rash, hives, joint and muscle pain, swollen lymph glands and weakness, facial paralysis, severe allergic reaction, myocarditis and pericarditis.

ATAGI’s revised guidelines continue to recommend vaccination only for children and adolescents aged 5–17 years who have severe immunocompromise or complex medical conditions that place them at higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19.

A spokesperson for the Australian Medical Professionals Society (AMPS) added:

“Despite the major implications of this decision, the government has not issued a formal public announcement. This stands in stark contrast to the high-profile campaigns that accompanied the initial rollout of COVID-19 vaccines for children. It has come to our attention that many doctors across Australia remain unaware of this critical update.”

AMPS are urging all medical practitioners to immediately review the updated ATAGI guidelines and ensure their vaccination practices reflect the most current evidence and policy.

Until a thorough, independent safety review is conducted, AMPS believes it is essential to pause further administration of these vaccines in the interest of public safety, informed consent, and medical ethics.

For further information, visit the official ATAGI guideline update here.