Key Points
- Australia commits another $2.6 billion in the federal budget to fight the pandemic
- Shanghai becomes the world's first city to administer an inhalable COVID vaccine
- WHO reports a 15 per cent decline in global COVID cases
The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) said Pfizer's paediatric vaccine can be given as a booster or fourth dose to vulnerable children aged five to 11.
The country's top vaccine advisory committee said the booster dose is only allowed in children who are severely immunocompromised and have a disability or complex multiple health conditions.
ATAGI recommends a three months gap between the recent COVID-19 infection or primary vaccination and the booster dose.
Children who are severely immunocompromised are eligible for a third primary dose.
Moderna's Spikevax and the bivalent vaccines are currently not allowed in this age group.
Australia has committed $2.6 billion as the country's response to COVID-19 in the federal budget. The funding is mainly for the supply of vaccines and personal protective equipment.
The Labor government, however, faced criticism that it didn't allocate specific funds for long COVID, similar to the US and UK.
Responding to criticism Federal Health Minister Mark Butler said his government has been funding research into long COVID.
He said the government was waiting on the report of a parliamentary committee on long COVID.
The Labor government's decision to end the 50-50 cost-sharing arrangement with states for COVID expenses in December has drawn criticism from the Australian Medical Association (AMA).
The AMA said it will have a "devastating impact" on hospitals.
Mr Butler said the COVID-19 cases have declined despite the mandatory self-isolation period ending on 14 October.
The health minister said he has received advice from some state chief health officers regarding a new wave in summer.
"Although some modelling expects the possibility of another wave over the course of summer, some of them now expect that to be smaller and shorter than might have been the case several months ago," Mr Butler said.
US President Joe Biden received the updated booster dose this week.
It was his third booster shot or fifth dose of a coronavirus vaccine.
Shanghai has become the world's first city to administer an inhalable COVID-19 booster dose.
The vaccine was developed by the Chinese biopharmaceutical company CanSino and received approval in September.
The new weekly global COVID-19 cases declined by 15 per cent and deaths by 13 per cent for the week ending 23 October, the World Health Organization noted in its latest report.
Germany, France, China, the US and Italy reported the highest global COVID-19 cases.
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