Australia to vaccinate children aged 12-15 against Covid-19

Sydney, Australia, Aug 27 (EFE).- Australia announced this Friday that children aged 12 to 15 will soon be included in its vaccination campaign against Covid-19 after government experts recommended the Pfizer vaccine for the age group.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced that children 12-15 years of age will be able to book an appointment to be vaccinated from Sep. 13.

The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) concluded that the Pfizer vaccine is safe and effective for that age group and has therefore recommended including it in the vaccination campaign.

“Vaccination still does benefit children by preventing Covid-19 and its complications, and in lowering the risk of school disruption, although their contribution to community transmission is thought to be less than in adults,” ATAGI said in a statement Friday.

In the midst of a race to accelerate vaccinations, Australia on Thursday surpassed 1,000 daily Covid-19 infections for the first time since the start of the pandemic amid its most virulent wave due to the Delta variant.

Central and state governments hope to achieve between 70 and 80 percent vaccination of their population in order to relax restrictions and open international borders, closed since March 2020.

So far more than 6.6 million Australians, or 32.3 percent of those aged 16 and over in the country, are fully vaccinated.

After closing its borders and implementing early lockdowns, Australia managed Covid-19 well last year, but the Delta variant detected in June has shot up accumulated infections in the country to more than 46,000, including 986 deaths.

The authorities consider that they will have to abandon their strategy of total elimination and learn to live with the coronavirus, perhaps indefinitely. EFE

wat-raa/tw