Are vaccines safe for young children? Australia's chief nursing and midwifery officer answers

Professor Alison McMillan answered a question about the safety of vaccines for children, which have been approved for five to 11 year old's since December, 2021.

"There's conflicting information around COVID-19 vaccines being safe for young children. So can you provide clarity on this?" the question read.

Professor McMillan firstly pointed out that "there is information on social media that may not be so reliable".

"It is very important for everyone that they access information from reliable sources. Make sure you're using a source for your information that comes from health.gov.au, so that information is reliable," she said in the video.

The Pfizer vaccine was approved for five to 11 year old's by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) and the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) in December last year.

Professor McMillan said both organisations "take a very rigorous approach to ensuring that the vaccines are safe for use, and they do that very diligently".

"They've looked at the evidence provided by Pfizer, who are required to make sure that this vaccine for the five to eleven year olds is safe and effective for children, and that it is now available, of course, for five to eleven year olds," she said.

"We do know that the studies internationally by Pfizer have demonstrated its safety and of course, how effective it is. And so that's why it's now being recommended by both approved by TGA and recommended by ATAGI."

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The Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer said children can experience a number of minor side effects after being vaccinated that are "similar to that in adults".

"The children are seeing these minor side effects shortly after the vaccine. So sore arm, headache, a little feeling a little achy and unwell. Those side effects are short lived and usually only lasted a couple of days at most," Professor McMillan said.

She pointed out there has been "no evidence of any major side effects" from vaccinations in children.

Meanwhile, new COVID-19 vaccine safety data from AusVaxSafety has shown children aged five to 11 years are reporting fewer side effects following vaccination than older people in Australia.

Appointments for children aged five to 11 years are available through the Vaccine Clinic Finder.