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COVID-19

Here’s what we know so far about the impact of COVID-19 on children.

Changing rules, recommendations, and risks: COVID-19 vaccination decisions and emotions during pregnancy

As COVID-19 vaccinations rolled out globally from late 2020, rules and recommendations regarding vaccine use in pregnancy shifted rapidly. Pre-registration COVID-19 vaccine trials excluded those who were pregnant. Initial Australian medical advice did not routinely recommend COVID-19 vaccines in pregnancy, due to limited safety data and little perceived risk of local transmission.

COVID-19 vaccination in children and adolescents aged 5 years and older undergoing treatment for cancer and non-malignant haematological conditions: Australian and New Zealand Children’s Haematology/Oncology Group consensus statement

The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation and New Zealand Ministry of Health recommend all children aged ≥ 5 years receive either of the two mRNA COVID-19 vaccines: Comirnaty (Pfizer), available in both Australia and New Zealand, or Spikevax (Moderna), available in Australia only. Both vaccines are efficacious and safe in the general population, including children. Children and adolescents undergoing treatment for cancer and immunosuppressive therapy for non-malignant haematological conditions are particularly vulnerable, with an increased risk of severe or fatal COVID-19.

Comorbidities and confusion: addressing COVID-19 vaccine access and information challenges

Early in the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, evidence emerged that individuals with chronic and immunocompromising conditions faced increased risk of severe infection, including death. The Australian Government and public health authorities prioritised these citizens' access to vaccines, including them in phase 1b of the rollout from 22 March 2021. 

The seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies in Australian children: A crosssectional study

Following reduction of public health and social measures concurrent with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron emergence in late 2021 in Australia, COVID-19 case notification rates rose rapidly. As rates of direct viral testing and reporting dropped, true infection rates were most likely to be underestimated.

Widening the lens for pandemic preparedness: children must be seen and heard

The Australian and New Zealand Paediatric Infectious Diseases (ANZPID) Group of the Australasian Society for Infectious Diseases (ASID) calls for urgent consideration of the needs and voices of children in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and in planning for future pandemics.

Facilitating knowledge transfer during Australia’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout: an examination of ‘Functional Dialogues’ as an approach to bridge the evidence–policy gap

Our interdisciplinary team initiated a project to inform the COVID-19 vaccination programme. We developed a novel research co-creation approach to share emerging findings with government. 

Life in a time of COVID: retrospective examination of the association between physical activity and mental well-being in western Australians during and after lockdown

The aim of this study was to examine physical activity and sedentary behaviours during Western Australia's COVID-19 lockdown and their association with mental well-being.

Public stigma toward prolonged grief and COVID-19 bereavement: A vignette-based experiment

We investigated the effects of cause of death and the presence of prolonged grief disorder on eliciting public stigma toward the bereaved.

The seasonality of respiratory syncytial virus in Western Australia prior to implementation of SARS-CoV-2 non-pharmaceutical interventions

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) seasonality is dependent on the local climate. We assessed the stability of RSV seasonality prior to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in Western Australia (WA), a state spanning temperate and tropical regions.