18 Jan, 2022 23:00HomeWorld News
The World Health Organization says Covid-19 boosters should be a priority for the highest-risk populations instead
A teenager gets a Pfizer Covid-19 booster at a vaccine clinic in Bellows Falls, Vermont, January 14, 2022. © AP / The Brattleboro Reformer / Kristopher Radder
There is currently no evidence that Covid-19 booster shots should be administered to healthy children and adolescents, the WHO’s top scientists said. The organization is still trying to work out the appropriate booster schedule.
“The aim is to protect the most vulnerable, to protect those at highest risk of severe disease and dying, those are our elderly population, immunocompromised with underlying conditions and also health care workers,” WHO chief scientist Dr. Soumya Swaminathan said at a news briefing on Tuesday, adding that “there’s no evidence right now” for administering them to otherwise healthy children and teens.
The WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on Immunization will meet later this week to consider how governments should think about boosters, Swaminathan said.
Dr. Michael Ryan, the WHO’s executive director for health emergencies, said the organization hasn’t figured out yet how many doses people may ultimately need.
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“I think people do have a certain fear out there that this booster thing is going to be like every two or three months and everyone’s going to have to go and get a booster. And I don’t think we have the answer to that yet,” Ryan said.
SAGE may eventually redefine how many doses will make up the “primary series” of shots, Ryan added, explaining that most healthy people may need just two, but the elderly or immunocompromised could require three or four.
Last week, the WHO’s Technical Advisory Group on Covid-19 Vaccine Composition (TAG-Co-VAC) said that a vaccination strategy “based on repeated booster doses of the original vaccine composition is unlikely to be appropriate or sustainable,” urging member countries to prioritize primary vaccinations for high-risk groups over universal boosting.
TAG-Co-VAC experts also said that current vaccines focus on reducing severe disease and protecting healthcare systems, while there is an ongoing need for vaccines that prevent infection and transmission of the virus.
‘Vax dates’: Victorian youth body urges teens to get Covid-19 jab without parents’ permission
A Victorian youth body has released a TikTok video encouraging teens to go on “vax dates” to get the Covid-19 jab without their parents’ permission.
Frank Chung
@franks_chung
January 17, 2022 – 12:15PM
Victorian youth body urges teens…
A Victorian youth body has released a video encouraging teens to get the COVID-19 jab without their parents’ permission.
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A Victorian government-funded youth body has created a TikTok video encouraging teenagers to go on “vax dates” to get the Covid-19 vaccine without their parents’ permission.
The video by the Youth Affairs Council of Victoria (YACVIC) features two teenage girls who go on a post-lockdown date to see a movie – but when asked to show their vaccination certificate, one says “my parents haven’t let me get vaccinated yet”.
“I mean, you’re over 14. You don’t actually need to get their permission,” the other girl says. “Wanna go do it now – go on a vax date?”
“That sounds fun,” the girl replies.
“After googling ‘vaccine clinic finder’, they found their nearest clinic,” the video text reads.
@yacvicPro tip: if you’re over 14, you can have your own Medicare card and consent to getting vax’d #LiveLoveJab#covidaustralia
♬ original sound – YACVic
The girl then gets her Covid-19 vaccine, and the pair skip out of the clinic holding hands. “Live, Love, Jab for more cute dates in your life,” the video says.
The caption reads, “Pro tip: if you’re over 14, you can have your own Medicare card and consent to getting vax’d.”
A number of states including Victoria and NSW have removed parental consent requirements for young people in a bid to increase vaccination rates among 12- to 15-year-olds.
Young people can now get vaccinated without parental permission. Picture: @yacvic/TikTok
In Victoria, children aged under 11 still require parental consent to receive the Covid-19 vaccine, but “people aged 12 to 17 may provide their own consent, if deemed to be a mature minor by a senior and experienced immuniser”.
“That means a health professional assesses whether someone in this age group understands the information relevant to the decision to be vaccinated and the effect of that decision,” the Coronavirus Victoria website says.
Similarly, NSW has eased guidelines to allow young teenagers to consent to the Covid-19 jab without a parent or guardian’s permission at state hubs.
NSW Health told The Sydney Morning Herald last week the change brought vaccination rules in line with consent guidelines in place in other health settings.
“It is to ensure a small number of children, aged 14 and 15, who may have difficulty getting consent can have the opportunity to get vaccinated,” a spokesperson said.
More than 75 per cent of Australians aged 12-15 are now fully vaccinated. Picture: @yacvic/TikTok
YACVIC describes itself as “the peak body and leading policy advocate for young people and the youth sector in Victoria”, which receives its core funding from the Victorian government’s Office for Equality and Youth.
The Office for Equality and Youth, formerly under the Department of Premier and Cabinet, was brought under the newly created Department of Families, Fairness and Housing in February last year.
Just over three-quarters of children aged 12 to 15 in Australia, or 933,566 people, are now fully vaccinated against Covid-19, according to federal Health Department figures published Sunday.
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More than one million, or nearly 82 per cent, have received their first dose.