The Greens say that the Government's approach to vaccinating First Nations people, disabled people and aged care residents, has been unacceptable and once again led to a tragic death that could have been prevented if adequate planning and support for experts was given when it was asked for.

Communities should not have to be begging for support, Greens spokesperson on Health Senator Rachel Siewert said. 

The Greens say that Mr Morrison’s failure to include children in the national vaccination targets will cost too many lives. 
 
“Mr Morrison has finally succumbed to public pressure and is now saying National Cabinet will talk about how to vaccinate children and teenagers (12-15 years old) tomorrow, but we urgently need to have targets for children”, Greens spokesperson on Health Senator Rachel Siewert said. 
 

The Greens have reiterated their calls for at least 80% of the whole population, including kids, to be vaccinated before we can start lifting restrictions, writing to Scott Morrison urging National Cabinet this Friday to agree to include children in vaccination targets. 

Leader of the Australian Greens Adam Bandt MP said:

“Scott Morrison’s plan will have kids leaving the cave and going straight to the ICU,” Mr Bandt said.

Dear Prime Minister 

I write to request that the forthcoming National Cabinet meeting consider the inclusion of children and all teenagers in the national vaccination targets.

The National Cabinet’s ‘reopening’ strategy envisages the substantial easing of restrictions when 80% vaccination rates are achieved. However, this is currently only 80% of the ‘eligible population’, defined as over 16-year olds, not 80% of the whole population, as recommended by the Grattan Institute.

The Greens say children and teenagers must be urgently included in the government's national vaccine targets and without children and teenagers being included in the plan we will not get out of rolling lockdowns. 
 
"Young people are contracting this deadly virus and they need protection too", Senator Rachel Siewert said. 
 
The Prime Minister’s current targets exclude children and most teenagers. The PM’s 80% target is really a 65% target of the whole population.
 

Kids and teenagers must be included in the government's national vaccine targets, Greens leader, Adam Bandt, said today. Young people deserve protection and without high rates of vaccination of the whole population, we will never get out of rolling lockdowns.

The Prime Minister’s current targets exclude children and most teenagers. The PM’s 80% target is really a 65% target of the whole population.

The Greens have called on National Cabinet, who have so far agreed in principle to the Prime Minister’s latest vaccination plan, to demand it include children.

Greens Leader Adam Bandt, says growing evidence shows that vaccinating younger people is vital to reducing COVID spread and deaths.

I'm speaking from my home in lockdown, as greater Sydney has entered its sixth week of lockdown. Millions of people are under stay-at-home orders as the virus circulates in our community Tragically, people are dying because vaccinations haven't been provided even to essential workers who have to leave home and are expected to stoically put their health and that of their families at risk. It was heartbreaking to hear today of the death of 27-year-old Aude Alaskar, who collapsed in his Warwick Farm unit.

The Greens say the absence of children under 16 in the latest vaccine rollout plans shifts baselines and according to recent studies risks thousands of deaths.

Greens Leader Adam Bandt, pressed the Prime Minister in question time today as to why he is not including children in his vaccination target.

Leaving children out of the measured cohort effectively changes the baseline, and if that means we’re targeting closer to 65% of the population, rather than 80%, a study by the Grattan Institute suggests that would likely mean thousands of deaths.

The Australian Greens have joined calls for the Prime Minister to release Doherty Institute modelling used to justify national vaccine targets that have been agreed in-principle by the National Cabinet.