Australia has reached a vaccination milestone, with 20 million doses administered across the country.
Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt said the milestone represented "20 million additional points of hope".
"We're not just on the way, we're making real and significant progress," he said.
LIVE UPDATES: NSW records 1288 new cases; Victoria records 176
Mr Hunt reassured parents the national plan does protect children.
"The entire national plan is about protecting all Australians, but it is predicated on protecting children," Mr Hunt said.
He said comments that children were not being prioritised under the national plan were false.
No vaccinations have currently been approved for children under 12.
READ MORE: Sydney patient's self-inflicted bout of diarrhoea and vomiting from unproven drug
Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly said the data from NSW showed most of the hospitalisations of children were as a result of social reasons, such as ill parents, rather than severe illness.
He said just three of the 3815 cases of the Delta strain of COVID-19 in children under 12 in NSW had required treatment in ICU.
"We are not ignoring children," he said.
READ MORE: Australia Post to suspend parcel collections from eCommerce for three days
He said vaccinating adults, particularly parents, had a "cocooning effect" on children and the best way to protect children was to decrease community transmission.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has said she won't reveal the state's plan for opening up at 80 per cent vaccination until she receives more information on how children will be protected.
Mr Hunt has also slammed the Queensland Government for its strict border restrictions, saying they had led to a "profound moral failure".
"In terms of compassion, we know that league players and their partners have been allowed into Queensland," he said.
"The fact that beautiful young children of patients with cancer are being denied entry for reuniting with their families or being treated is, I think, a profound moral failure."
The comments reference a three-year-old Queensland boy who is stranded with his grandparents in New South Wales, barred from returning home to his parents in Queensland.
from 9News https://ift.tt/3DFKqBF
via IFTTT
0 Comments