This article is from
Author
Phoebe Roth
Deputy Editor, Health+Medicine
Interviewed
Asha Bowen
Program Head of Vaccines and Infectious Diseases, and Head of Skin Health, Telethon Kids Institute
Catherine Bennett
Chair in Epidemiology, Deakin University
Julian Savulescu
Visiting Professor in Biomedical Ethics, Murdoch Children's Research Institute; Distinguished Visiting Professor in Law, University of Melbourne; Uehiro Chair in Practical Ethics, University of Oxford
Margie Danchin
Paediatrician at the Royal Childrens Hospital and Associate Professor and Clinician Scientist, University of Melbourne and MCRI, Murdoch Children's Research Institute
Nicholas Wood
Associate Professor, Discipline of Childhood and Adolescent Health, University of Sydney
Asha Bowen
Program Head of Vaccines and Infectious Diseases, and Head of Skin Health, Telethon Kids Institute
Catherine Bennett
Chair in Epidemiology, Deakin University
Julian Savulescu
Visiting Professor in Biomedical Ethics, Murdoch Children's Research Institute; Distinguished Visiting Professor in Law, University of Melbourne; Uehiro Chair in Practical Ethics, University of Oxford
Margie Danchin
Paediatrician at the Royal Childrens Hospital and Associate Professor and Clinician Scientist, University of Melbourne and MCRI, Murdoch Children's Research Institute
Nicholas Wood
Associate Professor, Discipline of Childhood and Adolescent Health, University of Sydney
SOMETHING BORROWED
Should we vaccinate children against COVID-19? We asked 5 experts
Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) recently announced provisional approval for the Pfizer vaccine to be used in 12-15-year-olds.
We learned on Monday that the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) has advised that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children aged 12-15, those who live in remote communities, and those with underlying medical conditions should be prioritised to receive the jab.
With COVID vaccination for kids being such a hot topic, we asked five experts whether we should vaccinate children in Australia against COVID-19.
Four out of five experts said yes
Here are their detailed responses:
If you have a “yes or no” health question you’d like posed to Five Experts, email your suggestion to: phoebe.roth@theconversation.edu.au.
Disclosures:
Asha Bowen is co-chair of the Australian and New Zealand Paediatric Infectious Diseases (ANZPID) group of the Australasian Society of Infectious Diseases. She receives research funding from NHMRC.
Catherine Bennett has received NHMRC and MRFF funding, and is an independent expert on the AstraZeneca advisory board.
Julian Savulescu receives funding from the Wellcome Trust. This work was supported by the UKRI/AHRC funded UK Ethics Accelerator project, grant number AH/V013947/1.
Margie Danchin is a member of ATAGI’s working group on vaccine safety, evaluation, monitoring and confidence.
Nicholas Wood holds an NHMRC Career Development Fellowship and Churchill Fellowship.
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article, published on August 2, 2021.