6 months to 4 years covid vaccine "Maroon Top"

Paediatric Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for immunocompromised children aged 6 months to 4 years

Covid-19 Vaccine for eligible children aged 6 months to 4 years

Key messages

A version of the paediatric Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine is now available for children aged six months to four years who are at higher risk of severe disease if they were to catch COVID-19.
Eligible children include those who are severely immunocompromised, or who have complex and/or multiple health conditions which increase the risk of severe COVID-19 as detailed in the Starship table of underlying comorbidities
Parents and guardians of eligible children will be able to book a vaccine by calling Healthline on 0800 28 29 26 or visiting BookMyVaccine.nz
Children aged 6 months to 4 years who are not in these risk categories have a very low likelihood of severe illness from COVID-19 infection and do not need the vaccine (and are not therefore eligible to receive it).

Supporting messages

The vaccine contains a lower dose of mRNA that has been specially formulated for this age group.
The vaccine is a three-dose course. The second dose is given 3 weeks after the first dose followed by a third dose at least 8 weeks after the second dose.
The vaccine is available to those who have the following health conditions (comorbidities):
- chronic lung disease including bronchiectasis, cystic fibrosis, BiPAP for OSA
- complex congenital heart disease, acquired heart disease or congestive heart failure
- diabetes (insulin-dependent)
- chronic kidney disease (GFR <15 ml/min/1.73m2)
- severe cerebral palsy (or severe neurodisability including neuromuscular disorders)
- complex genetic, metabolic disease or multiple congenital anomalies for example trisomy 21/Downs Syndrome
- primary or acquired immunodeficiency
- haematologic malignancy and/or post-transplant (solid organ or HSCT in last 24 months)
- on immunosuppressive treatment including chemotherapy, high-dose corticosteroids (Prednisone 2 mg/kg/day for more than 1 week, or 1 mg/kg/day for more than 1 month), biologics or DMARDS.

This paediatric Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for children aged six months to four years was provisionally approved by Medsafe, New Zealand’s regulatory authority, on 1 December 2022. Medsafe provides independent advice to the Ministry of Health. They follow a robust approval process to ensure vaccines meet acceptable standards for quality and that the benefits outweigh any risks. Medsafe only approves a vaccine or medicine for use in New Zealand once it is satisfied that it is of acceptable quality, efficacy and safety.
Following Medsafe approval, the COVID-19 Vaccine Technical Advisory Group (CV-TAG) recommended to the Ministry of Health that the vaccine be approved for use in children who are severely immunocompromised, or who have complex and/or multiple health conditions which increase the risk of severe disease from COVID-19. This was approved on 12 December 2022.
The Ministry of Health’s COVID-19 Vaccine Technical Advisory Group will continue to review new information on COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccines and will make further recommendations if necessary.

Please send any pātai (questions) to gina.burney@bopdhb.govt.nz or call 027 208 7167.

Recording of IMAC Webinar Comirnaty 6m-4y

Everything you need to know about Comirnaty (3mcg) 6m-4y | The Immunisation Advisory Centre (immune.org.nz)

See this link for the recording of the webinar.

The Vaccine

The vaccine for this age group is an adapted version of the COVID-19 Pfizer vaccine used for 5- to 11-year-olds. This vaccine is colloquially referred to as the ‘maroon top’ and there are 10 doses per maroon-coloured vial. The provisional approval is for 3 doses, with the second dose given 3 weeks after the first dose, followed by a third dose given at least 8 weeks after the second dose. The vaccine can only be administered by fully authorised vaccinators who have completed the relevant training for this vaccine, and are competent and confident vaccinating children 4 years and under. (Provisionally authorised vaccinators are encouraged to become fully authorised; contact karen.thomas@bopdhb.govt.nz to discuss).

After-care

Your patients may require after-care support or information after receiving the vaccine. More information will be available on this site over the next week.

In due course, information on this vaccine will also be available on the Ministry of Health and IMAC websites.

Eligibility

Eligibility of the vaccine is limited to tamariki who are severely immunocompromised, and/or who have complex and/or multiple health conditions which increase the risk of severe disease from catching COVID-19. This follows the Starship Child Health table of underlying comorbidities, which can be viewed here. Children who are not in these risk categories for severe COVID-19 are not recommended to have the vaccine.

Bookings

Bookings for this vaccine delivery at fixed sites will be available online on www.BookMyVaccine.nz or by phoning Healthline for free on 0800 28 29 26 between 8 am-8 pm, 7 days. The vaccine is free. The Bay of Plenty’s outreach immunisation service team will be calling parents/caregivers of tamariki admitted to our hospitals over the past year for identified conditions to offer the vaccine to their tamariki.

Delivery

The vaccine will be available for eligible tamariki to access for FREE via:
Rangiora, Tauranga Moana Health Hub
Open 10:30 am-6 pm Mon-Fri; 9:30 am-5 pm Sat & Sun
Fraser Cove Shopping Centre, 219-261 Fraser Street, Tauranga
No appointments necessary

Eastern Bay Primary Health Alliance
Open Sat 10 am–1 pm
5 Louvain Street, Whakatāne
By appointment with a limited drop-in service

Outreach immunisation service teams visiting healthcare providers and homes as invited throughout the Bay of Plenty.

Referrals

You know your patients and their whānau well and we encourage you to refer eligible tamariki through to the Bay of Plenty immunisation programme by free phoning 0800 829 001 between Monday – Friday, 8 am-4:30 pm or by e-referral through BestPractice using the same BPAC referral pathway as the COVID-19 and mpox deliveries. For those with no access to BestPractice a secure email may be sent to imms@bopdhb.govt.nz with ‘Infant Pfizer referral’ noted in subject line and NHI only in body of email.

We know the vaccination itself is only one small part of the vaccination experience for whānau, and all healthcare providers have a key role to play in building trust and lifting uptake. Please consider which tamariki you engage with who may be eligible and start kōrero with whānau about the vaccine now.

Communications

As trusted healthcare advisors to whānau throughout the rohe, we value your role in talking about the vaccine with parents of immunocompromised tamariki and supporting parents with an informed decision-making process. We are grateful for your support of our efforts to ensure all immunocompromised tamariki can easily have this vaccine. National collateral from Te Whatu Ora – Health New Zealand (such as vaccine leaflets and after-care information) is expected to be available to print from 26 January. We will let you know when this is available and encourage you to order copies for your clinics and staff to hand out to whānau. We have requested these resources be available in English, Te Reo Māori, Pasifika languages, and other languages frequently spoken throughout Aotearoa.

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