11 August 2022

Updated ATAGI COVID-19 vaccine recommendations for young children

The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) has updated their recommendations for COVID-19 vaccine use in children aged 6 months to less than 5 years.

COVID-19 vaccinations for children 6 months to less than 5 years

ATAGI recommends COVID-19 vaccination for children aged 6 months to less than 5 years with severe immunocompromise, disability, and those who have complex and/or multiple health conditions that increase the risk of severe COVID-19.

Children aged 6 months to less than 5 years who are eligible can receive their COVID-19 vaccination from 5 September.

They should have two primary doses, except for those with severe immunocompromise who require three primary doses.

For more information, read the ATAGI recommendations on COVID-19 vaccine use in children and visit the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care website.

Supporting access to COVID-19 vaccinations

All NDIS participants aged 6 months and over are now eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine.

As you are providing NDIS supports and services to babies and young children with disability, you play an important role in supporting them and their parents or guardians to access COVID-19 vaccinations if they choose to do so. This assists safe service delivery and is one way to manage risks of COVID-19 infection, consistent with your obligations under the NDIS Code of Conduct and NDIS Practice Standards.

You can help by doing simple things to support parents and guardians in making their decision about COVID-19 vaccination for their child:

• Talk about vaccination with parents and guardians
• Offer assistance to parents and guardians, where needed, to access accurate information about vaccination from reliable and trusted sources
• Encourage parents and guardians to talk with their child’s GP about vaccination
• Provide support to make an appointment and to attend vaccination, where appropriate.

COVID-19 outbreak prevention and management

There is currently a surge of COVID-19 and influenza across Australia and it is important we do all that we can to protect those at greatest risk.

For more information about outbreak prevention and management, read our recent COVID-19 vaccine provider alert (28 July).

Further information

For more information about COVID-19 vaccines and to access resources, visit the COVID-19 vaccine information webpage.