Experts are urging caution in the decision to vaccinate children under 12 years of age against COVID-19.

A new review by the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) does not argue for or against vaccinating children against COVID-19, but rather highlights points to consider and the complexity of such policy decisions for this age group.

MCRI’s Professor Nigel Curtis says the review found that although mass COVID-19 vaccination of all ages may become the standard approach globally, it is important to scrutinise all the arguments.

“Whether all children less than 12 years of age should be vaccinated against COVID-19 remains an open scientific question,” he said. 

“The balance of risks and benefits of COVID-19 vaccination in children is more complex than in adults, as the relative harms from vaccination and disease are less well established in this age bracket.”

Vaccination will minimise the number of children who become severely unwell with COVID-19. Additionally, vaccinating healthy children will help to protect them from long-term consequences such as long COVID and rare instances of multisystem inflammatory syndrome, as well as reducing community transmission and helping prevent school closures and the indirect harms of lockdowns. 

But the review also says that if COVID-19 remains a generally mild disease in children it may not be necessary to vaccinate all those aged under 12 years, which would reduce exposure to rare vaccine side effects, help improve the global vaccine supply and prevent any impact on routine immunisation schedules.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has indicated that young children in Australia could be eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine by the end of November, but long-term, real-world safety data will likely be required by Australian authorities before approving vaccines for this age group.

The full report is accessible here.