NSW wants 12-15 age group to be vaccinated 'quickly' to curb community transmission

NSW health authorities want all children between 12 and 15 vaccinated immediately given the deteriorating situation in the state but approval is still yet to come from the national immunisation body, which says it could take months.

COVID-19 cases are surging among those 19 years and under in NSW and account for about a third of all cases.

There are currently 11 people between 12 and 17 who are being treated for COVID-19 in hospital.

However, only a small number of 12- to 15-year-olds are eligible to receive Pfizer and chief health officer Kerry Chant wants the roll-out expanded urgently.

"I firmly believe that we need to get in and vaccinate our 12- to 15-year-olds at the moment. We vaccinated the 16-year-olds [but] I'm keen to get into the 12- to 15-year-olds personally," she said.

"I believe in targeting school-aged children, in particular high school children, very quickly because we know they contribute to transmission."

The Thereapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has approved Pfizer for this age group but the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) only recommends children who are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, live in remote communities or have underlying conditions receive the vaccine.

On August 2, ATAGI said recommendations for all other children in this age group would be made to the federal government in "coming months".

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said vaccinating children was "of course an important issue" and ATAGI's advice wasn't "far away".

"ATAGI along with their UK counterparts, is now considering the expansion of this to all 12- to 15-year-olds … if ATAGI provides that advice, planning is already well under way. 

"This is a matter that we have dealt with regularly both at National Cabinet in terms of the state-based systems for potential school-based vaccination programs," he said.

"[The ATAGGI approval] is not too far away is my understanding but equally we're talking about the vaccination of our kids and I want to be very sure about the medical advice we're getting about that."

Fiona Russell, a paediatrician specialising in epidemiology and vaccination at the Murdoch Children's Research Institute, said a majority of 12- to 15-year-olds must be vaccinated by the start of 2022.

"I would hope, depending on supply and logistics, secondary school children should all be done by the new school year at the latest," she said.

Professor Russell said it was most important to see more vaccine uptake in priority groups, particularly Indigenous Australians, but vaccinating children had critical benefits for the whole community.

"Hospitalisation is uncommon in this age group so we're talking about vaccinating to prevent transmission," she said.

"Vaccinating these children is an important part of the strategy as we want to get them back to school and we want to prevent infections coming home to parents."

If children are infected by COVID-19, their "attack rate" is high, meaning they easily pass the virus onto their parents or other adults in the house, Professor Russell said.

But she says it is just as important that parents and teachers get vaccinated to ensure the school-to-home loop is as safe as possible.

"We don't have any data for Delta but we know [for Alpha], the higher the coverage in adults, the less infections for children under 16 who are not vaccinated."

Professor Russell said vaccines should be channelled to local government areas of concern in Sydney, in particular to disadvantaged areas where children are unable to engage with online learning or have access issues.

But ATAGI says before it can approve Pfizer for everyone between the ages of 12 and 15, the following must be reviewed:

• the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines in adolescents in overseas vaccination programs
• the incidence, risk factors and outcomes of cases of COVID-related myocarditis (heart inflammation) in adolescents and young adults reported overseas
• mathematical modelling on the overall benefit of vaccinating adolescents
• timing and schedule of vaccination in adolescents, both in terms of dose number and spacing

Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine has been given provisional approval for people over 18 but the TGA is still evaluating its use in adolescents.

As for those under 12, Professor Russell says if the vaccines are considered safe, effective and necessary for them, approval and distribution should not be expected until mid-2022.

Pfizer says it expects data from its trials in children aged two to 11 to be handed down in September.

Moderna has not started its trials for young children but has named Australia as a potential location for trialling its vaccine among those aged 6 months to 12 years.