Queensland may keep the border shut until kids can get vaccinated

If you’re dreaming of a Queensland summer holiday, you may need to make a plan B. 

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk is contemplating keeping the Queensland border shut until children can access COVID-19 vaccines.

Speaking in Queensland parliament on Wednesday, the premier said the risks to children, who could not be vaccinated, were unknown. 

“I honestly believe we need to have further research done on what happens to the zero to 12 cohort,” she said.

Watch the speech in the video below. 

Border negotiations

Under the national cabinet agreement, Australian states and territories would open their borders when the nation hits 70 per cent of eligible Australians vaccinated. 

However, that target did not include children. And the Doherty report does predict up to 355,000 symptomatic infections in children under 16 in the first 180 days of reopening. You can read the full Doherty report here. 

NSW is fast approaching 70 per cent of “eligible” residents with one dose of COVID-19 vaccination. And on Wednesday Premier Gladys Berejiklian indicated that she would open the state up to international travellers when NSW hit 80 per cent of double doses.

As the target approaches, premiers in states without COVID are getting worried.

On Thursday morning, Palaszczuk doubled down on her comments via Twitter. 

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Travel with kids

Children aged above 12 can access COVID-19 vaccinations in Victoria.

In NSW, the state with the largest Delta outbreak, teenagers can not book a vaccination appointment until 13 September.

No vaccine for children aged 0-12 has been approved. However, trials of Pfizer and Moderna in children aged 5-12 are underway in the United States.

We don’t yet know what all this means for the summer holidays. But if you do want to travel to Queensland with kids, you will need to watch this tussle closely. And probably have a back up holiday option.

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Main image © Canva

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