On February 17, 2022, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) granted provisional registration for the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, SPIKEVAX, for children aged 6-11 years, to be administered as a half dose of 0.25 mL or 50 micrograms (50μg), in 2 doses at least 28 days apart. Compared to 12 years and older who receive the same vaccine preparation but at full dose of 0.5 mL or 100 micrograms (100 μg). [1, 2, 10]
The TGA state their assessment was based on Moderna‘s kidCOVE study [3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8]
By this stage myocarditis is known as a potential side effect of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, and have been designated “very rare” which means “up to one in 10,000 vaccinated people may be affected” and “the data show that the increased risk of myocarditis after vaccination is highest in younger males.” [9]
As of Feb. 23, 2022, 49.4% of children have received their first dose of a vaccine and 62.1% of eligible of Australians have received their boosters.