Children aged 12 to 15 have been given the green light to be COVID vaccinated, with the national rollout ticking over the milestone of having one-third of adults fully jabbed.
The ACT leads the way with 41 per cent of the national capital’s over-16s fully vaccinated, with Western Australia trailing the pack on 29.8 per cent as of Friday.
After a shaky start, the national program has exceeded 18.4 million doses, with 61 per cent of over-70s, 49 per cent of over-50s and 33 per cent of all those over 16 fully vaccinated.
Meanwhile, the federal government has finalised the details of its no fault claim scheme designed to provide quick access to compensation for serious adverse reactions to approved vaccines and vaccinations.
Health Minister Greg Hunt says the COVID-19 Vaccine Claim Scheme will offer protection to Australians receiving a TGA-approved vaccine, irrespective of where vaccination occurs.
“Side effects, or adverse events, from COVID-19 vaccinations can occur but most are mild and last no longer than a couple of days,” he said in a statement released on Saturday.
“Serious and life-threatening side effects are very rare but it is important that we provide a safety net to support those affected.”
Mr Hunt said the scheme would also afford protection to health professionals administering vaccines.
It will be administered by Services Australia and provide “a single front door to a simple and quick administrative process for compensation”.
From September 6, Australians who suffer injury and loss of income due to a COVID-19 shot will be able to register their intent to claim.
The scheme will cover the costs of injuries above $5000 due to a proven adverse reaction.
Meanwhile, vaccine bookings for children aged 12 to 15 will open from September 13, following approval by the national expert immunisation panel.
The GP network will be the mainstay of the child vaccination program.
“That provides the opportunity for family vaccinations, for the family to get together across those age groups,” Prime Minister Scott Morrison told reporters on Friday.
States and territories will be left to decide on whether to run school-based programs.
Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly says more children are being infected in this year’s outbreaks partly due to higher adult vaccination rates but “the disease in children is much less severe than it is in adults.”
Education Minister Alan Tudge said having all secondary children included in the rollout would disrupt transmission in schools.
About 260,000 children aged 12 to 15 with compromised immune systems, disabilities, underlying health condition or who are Indigenous are already eligible.
Mr Morrison and state and territory leaders on Friday received updated modelling from the Doherty Institute which underpins a national agreement to reopen gradually when vaccine coverage reaches 70 and 80 per cent.
The institute argues it would be safe to open at the vaccine targets even if there are high case numbers in the hundreds.
But top-quality use of testing, tracing, isolating and quarantine needs to be maintained and small-scale lockdowns not ruled out even at the higher threshold.
NSW recorded another 1035 new local infections on Saturday and two further deaths in Sydney take the national toll to 993.
There were 64 cases in Victoria and 26 in the ACT.
AAP
