COVID-19 vaccination and vaccines for children and teenagers

COVID-19 vaccination in Australia is:

• recommended for children aged 6 months up to 17 years with very weak immune systems
• available to children aged 6 months up to 17 years with medical conditions or disability and significant or complex health needs that increase their risk of severe COVID disease
• not routinely offered to healthy children aged 6 months up to 17 years.

There are several COVID-19 vaccines approved for children in Australia. All vaccines protect against severe COVID disease.

Children with very weak immune systems: 6 months-17 years

Primary course
It’s recommended that children aged 6 months up to 17 years with very weak immune systems have a primary course of 2 vaccine doses, given 8 weeks apart.

Booster doses
Booster doses:

• aren’t recommended for children aged 6 months up to 5 years with very weak immune systems
• are available to children aged 5-17 years with very weak immune systems if it’s been 12 months since their last dose.

If your child has a very weak immune system, talk with your GP, your child’s specialist or a vaccination provider about your child’s vaccination needs.

Children with medical conditions or disability: 6 months up to 5 years

Primary course
A primary course of 2 vaccine doses given 8 weeks apart is available to:

• children aged 6 months up to 5 years with medical conditions that increase their risk of severe COVID disease
• children aged 6 months up to 5 years with disability and significant or complex health needs that increase their risk of severe COVID disease.

Booster doses
Booster doses aren’t recommended for these children.

If your child has a medical condition or disability, talk with your GP, your child’s specialist or a vaccination provider about your child’s vaccination needs.

Children with medical conditions or disability: 5-17 years

Primary course
A primary course of one vaccine dose is available to:

• children aged 5-17 years with medical conditions that increase their risk of severe COVID disease
• children aged 5-17 years with disability and significant or complex health needs that increase their risk of severe COVID disease.

Booster doses
Booster doses aren’t recommended for these children.

COVID-19 vaccination prevents vulnerable children and teenagers from getting very sick, being admitted to intensive care, or dying because of COVID-19. It also reduces their chance of getting long COVID.

Healthy children: 6 months-17 years

Primary courses and booster doses are not routinely offered to healthy children aged 6 months up to 17 years.

To find out where you can get your child vaccinated, use Healthdirect’s service finder. You can also check your state or territory government or health website.

COVID-19 vaccine safety and effectiveness for children and teenagers

The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) is continually checking that all vaccines are safe and working as they should for children and teenagers across the world.

Global clinical trials of the COVID-19 vaccines have shown that they’re effective – that is, that they prevent severe COVID-19 in children and teenagers. The trials have also shown that the vaccines are safe for children and teenagers.

COVID-19 vaccine doses for children younger than 12 years are smaller than the doses recommended for teenagers and adults. This is because clinical trials have found that smaller doses are safe and effective, so there’s no need for larger doses.

COVID-19 vaccination side effects

COVID-19 vaccines are safe. Like all medicines, they can still have side effects.

Common, mild side effects
Pain or swelling at the injection site, tiredness, headache, muscle pain, fever and chills are the most common side effects for children who get COVID-19 vaccines. These are generally mild and last only 1-2 days.

Children under 5 years are more likely to experience fever, particularly if they’ve had COVID-19 before. Children under 5 years are also more likely to get swollen lymph nodes.

Rare side effects
Anaphylaxis is a possible but very rare side effect of all vaccines, including COVID-19 vaccines. Immunisation providers monitor everyone for signs of anaphylaxis for 15 minutes following vaccination.

If your child has a history of anaphylaxis or anaphylactic reactions to vaccines, talk with your GP or allergy and immunology specialist before vaccination.

Myocarditis and pericarditis are other possible but rare side effects of COVID-19 vaccination. But younger children are less likely to get these conditions than teenagers. These conditions are usually mild, and people usually recover well from them.

If your child has myocarditis, pericarditis, acute heart failure, acute rheumatic fever or rheumatic heart disease or has had one of these conditions recently, talk to your child’s medical specialist before vaccination.

In the weeks after your child’s vaccination, you should seek urgent medical attention if your child has any of the following – chest pain, shortness of breath, awareness of their heartbeat, or feelings of faintness. Take your child to your GP or a hospital emergency department as soon as possible.

Questions about COVID-19 vaccination: what to do

It’s OK to be careful about getting your child vaccinated. If you have questions about side effects or the safety of COVID-19 vaccination, talk with a health professional like your GP or a vaccination provider. These professionals are trustworthy sources of information and can address your concerns.

The recommendations in this article are reliable because they come from the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI).

It’s essential to get vaccination information from reliable and trustworthy online sources, like government websites or the World Health Organization. These sources have information that’s based on scientific research, which means you can rely on what they say.

Other protective measures against COVID-19

All children and teenagers should take simple protective measures against COVID-19, regardless of whether they’re vaccinated:

• Maintain physical distancing, including staying 1.5 m away from people you don’t live with if you can.
• Wash hands and use personal hygiene.
• Wear face masks if recommended or required by your state or territory health authorities.
• Follow COVID-19 rules as required by your state or territory health authorities.