DAVID CAMPBELL:
Right, now, Aussie kids will be eligible for a COVID jab before school even starts next year with the Therapeutic Goods Administration provisionally approving Pfizer for children between ages 5 to 11.
SYLVIA JEFFREYS:
For more on this, Professor John Skerritt from the TGA joins us now in Canberra. Professor, good morning to you. Thanks for your time. Final approval is still a few days away, so what happens next? What is the timeline from here?
JOHN SKERRITT:
So, good morning, Sylvia. The TGA has approved this vaccine for, as you say, 5 to 11s. The next steps are to go to ATAGI, because they are looking at international data for example, on whether the interval between vaccinations should be longer. We know with adults that the vaccine works better if, say, the interval between the two shots is, say, two or three months. And so, that's one of the things that ATAGI is looking at, as well as giving their imprimatur to the performance and safety of it, although that is mainly TGA's role.
The other steps of course are providing the training for those who will be vaccinating kids. It is a different vaccine in a different vial, with a slightly different dose. The actual molecule is the same but it is formulated differently in a paediatric form. And then, of course, there's all the logistics of working with primary care, GPs, vaccination centres, and states and territory governments, before in a few weeks' time, we anticipate the vaccine will be rolled out ahead of kids going back to school.
DAVID CAMPBELL:
So, Professor, what about the dosage? I'm assuming that it's different from children than it is in adults.
JOHN SKERRITT:
Yeah, so like a lot of medicines and vaccines, kid- little kids don't need as much, and the actual dose is one-third of the dose that's used in teenagers and adults.
SYLVIA JEFFREYS:
And how critical is vaccinating this age group in terms of our nation's fight against COVID?
JOHN SKERRITT:
Well, on one hand, kids fortunately don't get as sick in general, there have been some illnesses and sadly two deaths in Australia, but in general, kids don't get as sick when they get COVID, but they still are accounting for about 20 per cent of all infections at the moment. And secondly, especially if there are older members of the family who are immuno-compromised or haven't been vaccinated, there is data that shows kids will then spread it up to their parents and grandparents and other family members.
Then there is also the issue of, you know, being a kid. If you are vacc- if you're not well and you've got COVID, you are excluded from school, you are excluded from sport, your contacts may be excluded from all the things that kids do, and we know there are mental health issues for the young, that that's been apparent during COVID. And finally, there is a small group of kids, about one in 3000, who even when they recover from COVID get this rather severe thing called multi-system post-inflammatory- post-infection inflammatory syndrome, and it's a mouthful, but for the kids who get it, they can be ill for months.
DAVID CAMPBELL:
So, I know a lot of this research has been focused on America and the jabs over there. So, has enough been done on it and are there any side effects that the parents out there need to know?
JOHN SKERRITT:
So, the experience in America to date, and we are talking to them again tomorrow morning, but I spoke with them just a couple of days ago, has been that the kids have had fairly minor side effects. They are like the side effects that adults and kids- adolescents, teenagers get. In other words, about half to two-thirds will get a sore arm in the first couple of hours. There is another group, maybe a third or more, who might feel a bit of a headache, have a bit of a temperature or a fever. May have diarrhoea even, for a day, day-and-a- half at most. But overwhelmingly they are short lived, those side effects.
SYLVIA JEFFREYS:
And what would you say, at this stage, to any parents in Australia who have concerns over vaccinating their children against COVID?
JOHN SKERRITT:
Well, talk with your vaccinators, talk with your family doctor, talk with healthcare professionals. Vaccination is not mandatory, but Australia has a tremendous record in vaccinating children. We have one of the highest children vaccination rates in the world, over 95 per cent, against the standard vaccinations of a national immunisation program. So, we are confident that parents will come forward, but it is a decision they make on behalf of their family.
DAVID CAMPBELL:
Alright, Professor John Skerritt from the TGA, we really do appreciate your insight on this. I'm sure a lot of parents were watching that segment very closely. Thank you so much.
JOHN SKERRITT:
Thank you.
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