/ 19 August 2021

COVID jabs for kids

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NSW yesterday reached a new COVID highwater mark recording 633 new local cases and 3 deaths – and Premier Gladys Berejiklian says the state has “not seen the worst of it“. That’s because too many people are “choosing to ignore the rules”, like leaving their homes when they are meant to be isolating, she says. NSW Police identified 400 cases of that on Tuesday. Yesterday, officials in the ACT (which recorded 22 new local cases) and Victoria (24 cases) pointed to NSW’s outbreak as a problem. And a group that’s causing significant concern: children.

I THOUGHT KIDS WEREN’T GETTING COVID?
That’s first wave thinking… During these recent outbreaks, the under 19yos are becoming infected at a high rate. In Canberra ATM, the average age of those who have caught COVID is 17yo – something Labor Senator Katy Gallagher knows too well. In Victoria and NSW, about 30% of those infected are aged under 19yo. Infectious diseases expert Professor Tony Cunningham has said that kids rarely get acute cases, but they are spreading the virus. These things are being considered by the official vaccines experts ATAGI and PM Scott Morrison yesterday said a decision on offering children aged 12-15yo the jabs is “not too far away”. “We’re talking about the vaccination of our kids, and I want to be very sure about the medical advice that we’re getting about that.”

WHO ELSE IS GETTING VACCINATED?
Qantas and Jetstar staff – if they want to keep their jobs… Yesterday, the airline outlined its requirement that frontline workers (like pilots, cabin crew, and airport staff) be fully vaxxed by mid-November and remaining employees by the end of March next year. “This will help guard against the disruptions that can be caused by just one positive COVID-case shutting down a freight facility or airport terminal,” boss Alan Joyce said. Since the pandemic’s start, 8,500 workers have been made redundant, and 2,500 workers were temporarily stood down earlier this month. Virgin says it’s looking at a similar rule.

Image source: Getty

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