Finlay Barlow, 15, is ready to get his Covid vaccine, and it looks like he will be getting it sooner than he originally thought.
It comes as the Therapeutic Goods Administration approved the use of Pfizer for children as young as 12.
The vaccine still needs approval from the federal government's expert medical panel on vaccines, which are likely to recommend it for children who are immunocompromised.
Finlay will fall under that category as he is an asthmatic. He is OK with getting the vaccine as he does not want to get Covid.
"I don't know much about the vaccine, but I'm not an anti-vaxxer so I might as well get it if it's safe by my doctor," he said.
"If I have asthma, it makes it hard to breathe and I went to hospital a few times especially when I was young so I don't want anything that make that worse."
Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt confirmed on Friday that the TGA decided the vaccine can be given to children between the ages of 12 and 15. It was previously only approved for Australians aged 16 and over.
The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation is expected to make a decision on this next week, its co-chair Christopher Blyth said.
"We need to consider those recommendations (from the TGA), given the fact we still have limited Pfizer supplies as well," he told a Senate committee examining Australia's pandemic response on Friday.
ATAGI will be looking at prioritising access for children who are immunocompromised or with underlying health conditions.
Finlay's father, Mick Barlow said he believed it was important for him to get vaccinated.
"With someone like Finn catching Covid may compromise his breathing an respiratory systems, so I think it's probably important for him to get vaccinated," Mr Barlow said.
"I probably want to get a bit more information, I've only just known about in the last minute, so I probably want to get more information."
"Living here in Canberra and with their age it [Covid] hasn't been a major concern I don't think, but it's gonna be around for a long, long time for the sounds of it, so they're gonna get vaccinated sooner or later."
"My wife is very concerned about the kids getting vaccinated. She wanted Finn to get Pfizer even before it was approved, so I know she'll be keen to get him Pfizer as soon as possible."
The ACT government has flagged that it is preparing "various vaccination delivery options" for children, including potential school programs.
But ACT Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith said the government would wait for the official ATAGI advice before deciding how it would fit into the vaccine rollout.
"I guess we all knew that the Therapeutic Goods Administration was assessing the Pfizer vaccine for 12 to 15 years olds, we knew that information was going to come through some point so that's not really a surprise," Ms Stephen-Smith said.
"But I think we'll need to wait for that ATAGI advice and for broader consideration around how that TGA approval will then feed into the actual vaccination rollout."
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With AAP
