CANBERRA – Australia’s medical regulator the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) said on Thursday that it has provisionally approved the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine for use in individuals aged six years and older.

The decision follows the provisional approvals granted by the TGA to Moderna for the use of the vaccine, SPIKEVAX, in individuals aged 12 years and older in September 2021. “As for other age groups, the use of this vaccine in children aged 6-11 years should be administered as two doses at least 28 days apart,” the TGA said in a statement.

It said a lower dose of 0.25 mL (50 micrograms) will be given to children 6-11 years, compared to the 0.5 mL (100 micrograms) dose used for those 12 years and older. SPIKEVAX now joins Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine as the recommended vaccines for Australian children.

Australia on Thursday reported more than 25,000 new COVID-19 cases and more than 60 deaths, including 39 in Queensland, 14 in New South Wales and nine in Victoria. According to the Department of Health data, there were 2,738 cases being treated in hospitals on Wednesday including 223 in intensive care.

In recent days, Australia’s parliament has been hit by a coronavirus outbreak. Pat Conroy, the opposition Labor party’s international development spokesperson, on Thursday became the fourth Member of Parliament in 24 hours to test positive for COVID-19. “Yesterday afternoon, in Canberra for Parliament, I took a PCR test on advice from Parliamentary Officials.

This test has come back positive for COVID,” Conroy wrote on social media on Thursday. “I am double vaxxed with a booster and will follow the ACT (Australian Capital Territory) Health directions,” he wrote. “Please stay safe.”