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Australia; QLD
Media release
From:
Expert Reaction
These comments have been collated by the Science Media Centre to provide a variety of expert perspectives on this issue. Feel free to use these quotes in your stories. Views expressed are the personal opinions of the experts named. They do not represent the views of the SMC or any other organisation unless specifically stated.
Dr Roger Lord is a senior lecturer (Medical Sciences) with the Faculty of Health Sciences at The Australian Catholic University and Visiting Research Fellow with The Prince Charles Hospital (Brisbane)
The provisional approval of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine for use in children 6 years and older is welcome news.
The spread of the virus happens in the early stages of an infection well before the individual becomes significantly unwell.
Children regularly mix in schools and if unprotected will serve as a reservoir of on-going infection and a potential source of new variants over time.
Four factors are critical to arresting hospitalisation and severe illness which include the evolution of the virus, vaccination rates, preventative measures (e.g. social distancing, improved ventilation) and improvements in COVID-19 treatments.
Vaccination of school age children will help to decrease infection rates in a substantial section of the population.
Professor Paul Griffin is the Director of Infectious Diseases at Mater Health Services and the Head of the Mater Clinical Unit for the University of Queensland School of Medicine
As we’ve seen with so many other approvals in recent times, the announcement of the approval of the Moderna mRNA vaccine “spikevax” today for children aged 6 to 11 years of age is more welcome news. The data supporting its use is clear with a large study of around 4000 children in this age group conducted in the USA and Canada demonstrating high rates of both efficacy and safety.
This of course is in addition to this vaccine being successfully used in our country and many others, in older children and adults, as well as the successful use of the other mRNA vaccine produced by Pfizer in children down to five years of age here in Australia already. While it has been pleasing to see many children in the 5 to 11 year age range already come out and receive their vaccine (my three children included), the uptake in this age range in our country is still less than 50 per cent.
With school (very appropriately) going back and the transmission we have seen in this age group in recent times, the importance of comprehensive (yet reasonable) mitigation strategies including vaccination has been highlighted. Adding another safe and effective vaccine option should hopefully help further increase uptake in this age group.
