Australia's medicine regulator has provisionally approved the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for children between the ages of 5 and 11, with the health minister saying the rollout could begin from 10 January.
The Therapeutics Goods Administration "have made a careful, thorough assessment, determined that it is safe and effective and that it is in the interests of children and Australians for children 5 to 11 to be vaccinated," said Health Minister Greg Hunt.
After initial delays with its general Covid-19 vaccine programme, Australia has swiftly become one of the world's most-vaccinated countries, with nearly 88% of Australians over the age of 16 having received two doses.