Kautai Tulikaki is set to become one of the first 15-year-olds in Australia vaccinated against coronavirus after receiving the Pfizer jab at Winnunga health service on Monday.
The Wiradjuri teenager booked in for the vaccine after ACT expanded eligibility to young people aged 12 to 15 at greater risk from the effects of the virus.
Canberrans in that age bracket with underlying medical conditions, who have a disability, or are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander have been invited to book from this week.
Kautai's mum Maria Kerby said getting her family vaccinated was a priority as it helped protect her loved ones with underlying health conditions.
Ms Kerby said her 70-year-old mum had respiratory issues and Kautai's dad had an autoimmune disease which put them both at greater risk if they were to contract COVID-19.
"We're in our little bubble here in Canberra but it's a scary thing if we had to face it," Ms Kerby said.
Kautai was one of an estimated 600 residents aged 12 to 15 who are of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent in the ACT and now eligible for the Pfizer vaccine. There are about 20,000 children aged 12 to 15 in the ACT overall, those with severe asthma, diabetes, obesity and epilepsy are included in the eligibility expansion.
ACT Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith said the decision to include at risk children followed advice from the Therapeutic Goods Administration that it was safe to do so.
"Opening vaccine bookings to vulnerable 12 to 15 year olds marks another important step in our COVID-19 vaccination rollout," she said.
Currently learning Korean, Ms Kerby had booked in at Winnunga for her own vaccine early on in the rollout in the hope of getting to travel next year.
She said besides from some mild side effects from the second dose, there'd been no setbacks from the vaccine.
"I'd do it again in a heartbeat if it meant protecting people and the community at large," Ms Kerby said.
"The more people that get vaccinated, the better it is for us to go out and explore the world again."
Bookings for vulnerable children and young people aged 12 to 15 years can be made at ACT government mass vaccination clinics or at a number of Canberra GPs.
Children and young people aged 12 to 15 with a disability are also eligible to get vaccinated at the ACT government's access and sensory clinic.
