Children aged between 12 and 15 are expected to be officially added to the national vaccine rollout, amid mounting pressure from state and territory leaders, as well as some within the health sector.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison all but confirmed yesterday that the rollout would be expanded and the decision would be discussed when National Cabinet meets today.
It's worth noting that the federal government and state and territory leaders are still waiting on official advice from Australia's expert vaccine panel, ATAGI, on whether to open up the rollout or not.
Even still, some jurisdictions have already gone their own way, with the Northern Territory expanding its program to include the cohort yesterday, and Victoria and the ACT flagging they'd offer the jab to the age group as well.
But, as has been the experience for some people (like pregnant women) previously, being eligible can still mean a months-long wait to get a vaccine.
Here's what we know about the plan to vaccinate 12- to 15-year-old children so far.
How soon will children get vaccinated?
GPs are expected to open bookings to children aged between 12 and 15 from next week.
However, with Pfizer supplies still limited, the next available appointment could be months away because there are still many people aged between 18 and 39 that are waiting to get vaccinated.
Australian Medical Association President Dr Omar Khorshid said the advice from the Doherty Institute modelling was the older age group must have access to the vaccine first.
"It's really that late teens through to 40-year-old age group who are the most mobile through the community and if we are able to roll the vaccine out in large numbers quite quickly to that group, it will actually have a protective affect on older Australians who haven't yet been vaccinated and also on younger Australians who haven't had the chance to get vaccinated yet," he said.
"So that should probably be the focus for the next month or two.
State and territory governments will decide when mass vaccination hubs can open bookings to the younger cohort.
Premiers and Chief Ministers have said they are supportive of vaccinating 12 to 15 year olds, however some have raised concerns about supply.
On Wednesday, New South Wales Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said the state would "act promptly" once ATAGI released its advice, but warned there still could be wait on appointments.
Supplied
)"At the moment we still have constrained supply (of Pfizer) so if that booking system was opened, children aged 12 to 15 would have access through the usual way but we are still in a supply constrained environment."
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has insisted that supply of Pfizer will ramp up and Moderna doses will start to arrive from next month.
"There is 1.2 million [12- to 15-year-old children] across Australia ... it is a task certainly well within the capability of the vaccination program," he said.
The Northern Territory did not wait for ATAGI's advice and yesterday announced it had opened bookings for anyone aged 12 and older at vaccine clinics, GPs and Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations.
Can they get the jab at school?
The National COVID Vaccine Campaign Plan released earlier this month stated that children would likely be vaccinated at school from December.
Lieutenant General John Frewen, who oversees the rollout, said discussions had already begun with the states and territories, who would be responsible for school vaccine hubs.
The NT plans to offer Pfizer in schools from September, with year 11 and 12 students prioritised.
Australian Education Union Federal President Correna Haythorpe said offering vaccines at schools was a good idea and she wants them up and running as soon as possible.
"We have state based programs now for vaccination rollouts, and it would make sense that we tap into those programs to deliver vaccines at school for students," she said.
The federal and state governments are also looking at changing the booking system so families can get vaccinated together.
What about teachers?
The Australian Education Union has raised concerns some teachers are still waiting to get vaccinated due to Pfizer supply constraints.
Ms Haythorpe has lobbied the federal government since February to classify teachers as essential workers and give them priority access but she said her request had fallen "on deaf ears."
"Many teachers are telling us that in terms of taking their place in the national queue for a vaccine, they're waiting until late September or October for their initial appointment and that's not good enough," she said.
Earlier this week, New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian insisted there was adequate supply of AstraZeneca/Vaxzevria that people could access instead of waiting for Pfizer.
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)"Everybody has access to a vaccine; don't be fussy, come forward and get vaccinated," she said.
Ms Haythorpe said she supported vaccinating younger people, but teachers need access and options.
"We want to return to business in terms of face-to-face teaching as soon as possible,"
"It is the reality that students may get vaccinated before their teachers and we believe that's why it's important that we have a very detailed, comprehensive plan about ensuring that the workforce can have priority access to vaccination."
Will children be included in the vaccine targets?
The Prime Minister will further discuss the 70 and 80 per cent vaccine targets when National Cabinet meets today.
At this stage, the thresholds include people aged 16 and older but ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr wants children between 12 and 15 to be included.
"I have called for that, whether other jurisdictions and the PM agree will really be a matter for each of them," he said.
The Doherty Institute, which provided modelling on vaccine thresholds to National Cabinet, found that adding 12 to 15 year olds as an early priority group in the vaccine rollout would have had a minimal impact on the number of cases of serious illness and death.
Mr Barr said the younger cohort will be included in the ACT's threshold figures regardless of what other jurisdictions decide.
Mr Morrison has indicated he has no intention of changing the goal posts.
"The rates of vaccination across the broader population over 16 give us the indication of the level of vaccination ready needed to be able to move to Phase B and Phase C," he said.
"That does not by implication say there is no need to vaccinate children 12 to 15."
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