Children aged five to 11-years-old will be able to get vaccinated against COVID-19 as early as this week in the US after authorities provided the final approval needed to Pfizer.

Nigel McMillan, an expert in infectious diseases and immunology at Griffith University, said it was a big step.

But he said Australia would make decisions independent of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the US.

“We judge it completely independently,” he told 4BC Drive.

He also gave an insight into how the immunisation schedule for Australian children could change as technologies develop.

“We already give flu vaccinations to kids at six months, so you can imagine there will be a time all things being equal and safe it would just become part of the regular vaccination schemes we give to our children for the vaccines we already give.

“And hopefully, I am thinking in the future, we are looking at these new RNA technologies like Pfizer and the Moderna, there’s a potential in the future for these vaccines to be bundled up into one vaccination.

“So imagine your kid going along and having one vaccination and one booster six months later and that’s it … parents would probably like a whole lot less injections if possible.”

Press PLAY below to hear more about the process of approving the vaccine in Australia for children

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