Amid a coronavirus scare for some of Australia’s most vulnerable infants, pharmaceutical giant Pfizer says it has recorded promising results in tests on its COVID-19 vaccine for young children.
Another study covering children aged six months to five years old is expected to report back before the end of the year.
A Pfizer spokeswoman told AAP results on tests in patients as young as five had shown a favourable safety profile and robust antibody response for two doses of its vaccine.
The data has gone to United States regulators for initial review. A formal submission for emergency use authorisation, along with submissions to other regulatory authorities, are planned in the coming weeks.
Pfizer has applied to Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration for a provisional determination, which will allow formal application for inclusion of the five to 11-year-old age group.
Australia has already secured enough doses to vaccinate five to 12-year-olds. The TGA and the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation must approve the vaccine’s use for Australian children before the doses can be administered nationwide.
More than 53 per cent of children aged 12 to 15 have received a first jab just four weeks after the age cohort was added to the rollout.
There’s more on coronavirus risks to children in the wrap below as well as details on exposures in regional Victoria.
There’s also some good news for New South Wales residents who could be getting extra freedoms if more people get vaccinated by the weekend.
Victoria
Dozens of the state’s most vulnerable hospital patients – critically ill babies – may have been exposed to the coronavirus.
The Herald Sun reports that a parent infected with COVID-19 visited Melbourne’s Royal Children’s Hospital neonatal intensive care unit.
The Butterfly ward at the hospital is yet to be listed as an exposure site on the government’s website.
The latest list of exposure sites, published late Tuesday night, includes alerts for a childcare centre – Shine Bright in Maiden Gully – as well as a string of cafes and pubs in regional areas.
They include:
- The RSL in Wangarratta;
- Pinsett Hotel in Wangarratta;
- The Old ‘N’ Country in Wangarratta;
- Bomboras cafe in Torquay;
- Wakiti Creek Resort Caravan Park in Kotupna;
- The National Hotel in Bendigo;
- City Oval Hotel in Ballarat;
- BB Chicken and pub in Geelong;
- Next Level Skirmish in North Geelong.
Meanwhile, elective surgeries are on hold as hospitals brace for an influx of COVID-19 hospitalisations.
Health Minister Martin Foley confirmed public hospitals only be performing urgent category one and two surgeries from Thursday.
It comes as the state recruits up to 1000 healthcare workers from outside Australia.
“As COVID cases increase … we will be progressively seeking to switch off elements of non-urgent care,” Mr Foley said.
The numbers of Victorians in hospital with COVID-19 keeps rising, with 675 patients on Monday, of whom 144 are in ICU including 100 on ventilators.
The government will inject $255 million into creating a new hospital surge support allowance for healthcare workers treating COVID-positive patients.
The allowance would provide up to $60 per shift for the next four months, and would kick in from this week.
Since recording 1965 cases on Saturday, the state’s daily numbers have trended down, with another 1466 infections on Tuesday.
The good news is, experts are confident Victoria could reach 70 per cent vaccinated by October 22 – and that means more freedoms could be coming sooner than originally planned.
NSW
NSW Health has issued an alert for anyone who was on Brisbane to Sydney Qantas flight QF509 on Saturday morning to get tested after it was revealed a passenger was infected with COVID-19.
NSW recorded 360 new infections and five deaths on Tuesday. Some 766 virus patients are in hospital, of whom 155 are in intensive care.
The state is rapidly approaching the next vaccination milestone, just three days into the reopening triggered once 70 per cent of eligible residents were fully vaccinated.
Some 75.23 per cent of residents over 16 were fully vaccinated by Monday and 90.77 per cent had at least one shot.
That means NSW could reach the 80 per cent mark by Sunday.
If that milestone is reached, the next phase of the reopening will begin on Monday.
“The success of our vaccination rate has been absolutely superb … when we hit 80 per cent, we’ve always said it will be the Monday following,” Premier Dominic Perrottet told ABC radio.
However, the reopening roadmap could be tweaked if the next phase came so soon, he said.
“The rate of vaccination is Sydney has outpaced that in regional NSW, so when we set the roadmap we obviously had a focus on where we thought things would be at,” Mr Perrottet said.
NSW cabinet’s COVID and economic recovery committee – formerly known as crisis cabinet – will discuss the issue on Thursday.
The premier pledged to announce any changes to regional travel restrictions or other elements of the roadmap on Friday.
As things currently stand, the next phase of the roadmap would allow outdoor gatherings of up to 50 vaccinated people, 20 guests in a home, dancing at hospitality venues and drinking standing up at the pub.
Travel across NSW would be allowed, as would carpooling, weddings of any size if the venue is large enough, and community sport.
ACT
Changes to how ACT health authorities will handle positive COVID-19 cases are set to be revealed, as Canberra nears the end of lockdown.
ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr will provide an update on Wednesday on how testing, tracing, isolation and quarantine measures will be undertaken, with there expected to be less of an emphasis on case numbers.
The changes are expected to be phased in over several weeks, following the ending of Canberra’s lockdown on Friday.
The territory’s chief health officer Kerryn Coleman said the changes would coincide with a shift away from a sole emphasis on virus case figures.
“The daily numbers are becoming less important with our higher vaccination rate and more movement in the community,” Dr Coleman said.
“We are moving towards a COVID normal where we expect to see an ongoing transmission of cases.”
Contact tracing is expected to focus on cases in the community that represent the greatest risk to the public.
The ACT is on track to reach 99 per cent of its eligible population being fully vaccinated.
Mr Barr said he expected to see the figure reached by the end of November.
Current vaccine figures show 98.2 per cent of over-12s in the ACT having received a first dose, while 72 per cent have received both doses.
Friday will bring eased restrictions, including gatherings of up to five people in one household or 25 outdoors.
Restaurants, cafes, bars, gyms and hairdressers will also be able to reopen, subject to density limits.
Most retail will have to wait until October 29 to reopen, but some non-essential stores that take appointments, such as for trying on clothes or test-driving a car, will be able to reopen for a maximum of two people per household.
The ACT reported 28 new cases of COVID on Tuesday, including 22 linked with known cases.
-with AAP
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