The campaign to vaccinate children aged five to 11 began yesterday, and Gerringong Medical Practice’s Dr Jacqueline Sloan is encouraging parents to act quickly.

“We are not expecting our patients to wait for an appointment at our practice only,” says Dr Sloan.

“We are very happy for them to go wherever they can – to another doctor or a pharmacy - getting vaccines into their child’s arm is the most important thing.”

The Bugle was at her practice on day one of the roll-out, when she gave 11 year old Campbell, from Gerringong, his first shot. Campbell’s response was that he now felt “safe”.

“It was a bit scary before, but it wasn’t painful,” he says.

Some of Campbell’s friends have already caught COVID and when asked if his mates were getting vaccinated, he responded, “They should be.”

The ATAGI recommended Pfizer shots, which will be one third of the adult dose and delivered eight weeks apart, have been shown to be 91 per cent effective in children.

Dr Sloan says that the Gerringong clinic was very fortunate to receive the COVID paediatric vaccines it had ordered.

“I understand a few practices didn’t receive them. We had booked our clinics assuming we would. Our receptionists are so overworked at the moment - we are receiving hundreds of phone calls a day – it would have been very frustrating to have to call say 60 parents of children to delay their appointments.”

Dr Sloan says the paediatric vaccines are safe, effective, and reduce the risk of a severe case of the disease, long-term side effects or long COVID.

“Parents, carers and guardians can be reassured that by vaccinating their child against COVID-19 they have done everything possible to keep their child safe from this virus.

“There are also important social benefits for children and the wider community, as higher vaccination rates will slow the spread of the virus in our community, keep schools open and enable young people to keep doing the activities they love.

“Connecting with family and friends, participating in team sports, going to concerts and travelling are just some of those activities.”

For many parents, vaccinating their child is a shared decision with both parents agreeing to go ahead. But not all parents agree.

Dr Sloan suggests that parents do further research. Questions and Answers on the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance website may help some parents

The Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt says that more than 80 per cent of Australians aged 12 to 15 have already had two doses.

People who test positive are now advised to contact their GP.

“If you are in a low-risk category and you have a positive COVID-19 result, part of the routine advice you get from Public Health is if you have any concerns, contact your GP,” says Dr Sloan.

“We are getting several calls every day from people isolating at home with COVID. To make sure they are safe we monitor their symptoms and set up management plans for them to make sure they have someone checking on them every day to see if they need any mental health or social support.”

Her advice is to:

• Get vaccinated or get your booster (4 months after your second shot, reduced to 3 months after Jan 31). There is plenty of vaccine available.
• Practice all of the social distancing, hand hygiene and limit large indoor group activities, although she sees there needs to be a balance with mental health and quality of life.
• Choose sensible ways of catching up with friends and stay outdoors.

Parents and guardians can book an appointment for a child via the vaccine clinic finder.