Youth COVID cases in Dubbo, Shepparton prompt calls for vaccination

From Wednesday, everyone over 12 on the National Disability Insurance Scheme will become eligible for the Pfizer jab.

Pfizer is currently only offered to children aged 12 to 15 who have an underlying health condition, or who identify as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander.

The outbreak of COVID-19 in Shepparton has largely affected children, and the outbreak in Western NSW - that has hundreds of cases attached to it - is also largely affecting young people, with high transmission rates in schools.

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In Victoria, more than 100 active cases of the virus involve children under the age of ten.

Finley GP Dr Alam Yoosuff, who lives in the VIC-NSW border bubble, believes that children should be included in the vaccine rollout in the future.

"There's no second thought about it," he added.

Dr Yoosuff said that places like North America, Europe and Israel that are already vaccinating children are seeing a reduction in hospitalisations and a reduced threat of infection.

He believes that it is supply issues preventing Australia from broadening its vaccine eligibility guidelines.

"The issue that we have in Australia is we haven't got enough vaccines on the shelves for out adult population, hence we haven't opened it up for the kids," Dr Yoosuff said.

He said the rate of infection amongst children in Shepparton is "worrying", considering Finley's connectivity with the town.

"If we have vaccinated kids, we can see that this kind of outbreak will be far less," Dr Yoosuff said of the Shepparton and Dubbo clusters.

He said that since the pandemic began, almost 8000 children in Australia have been infected with COVID-19. There has only been one death - a 15-year-old boy in Sydney - however he also had pneumococcal meningitis.

"If kids get infected kids rarely die, [but] they get sick, they get hospitalised, they have long-COVID," Dr Yoosuff said.

"One in ten kids when they get infected will have long COVID. That is not something we can tolerate."

Long-COVID refers to people who contract the virus but don't recover for a number of weeks or months, often having ongoing, persisting symptoms.

Deputy premier John Barilaro said on Tuesday that the state government has a focus on vaccinating teachers before school goes back.

He also believes that once 70 to 80 per cent of the adult population is vaccinated, this will provide a "level of protection" for children.

"We've reached out, we're waiting for ATAGI advice for 12-year-old's and above," Mr Barilaro said of the vaccine eligibility guidelines.

"We believe there's enough science and data, we're waiting on ATAGI to give us further permission, but nowhere in the world has it been below 12-year-olds."

Mr Barilaro said is confident that when the 12 and above cohort becomes eligible, parents will come forward and have their children vaccinated.

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