As the country continues to report new cases of Omicron variants of Covid 19, the Australian government announced on Saturday that anti-Covid vaccines for children may be available soon.
Greg Hunt, the Federal Health Minister, announced on Saturday that the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation is considering administering the Pfizer vaccine to children as young as five years old. The vaccine could be made available as early as the end of December or in January 2022.
The decision was made after the Victoria region reported nine Covid-related deaths and the NSW confirmed new Omicron cases on a daily basis.
The Health Minister stated to the media that the Therapeutic Goods Administration will advise the country, and then the Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation will submit their response. We will begin distributing vaccine doses to the paediatric population in January if both organisations give their approval, he said.
On Saturday, Victoria reported nine Covid deaths, while the state recorded 1365 new infections. 288 patients are admitted to the hospital, with 44 of them being severely infected and admitted to intensive care units.
Meanwhile, NSW confirmed 325 new cases and one fatality on Saturday. So far, 13 Omicron cases have been reported in the state.
Previously, the Australian government stated that research institutes and pharmaceutical companies in Australia’s state of Victoria had developed a new Covid vaccine candidate, and clinical trials would begin next year.
So far, 450 doses of the vaccine have been manufactured, and approximately 150 people will be vaccinated in the first phase of clinical trials. The clinical trial results are expected to be submitted by the companies later in 2022.
According to medical experts, the vaccine will protect against future COVID-19 variants.
____
Vaccine | Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter @njtimesofficial. To get the latest updates
