Children aged six to 11 will have access to the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine from Thursday.

The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation has signed off on the vaccine following approval by the Therapeutic Goods Administration last week.

It will be half the adult dose.

“We [will)] have Moderna in over 4000 points of presence around the country,” Health Minister Greg Hunt said in Canberra on Wednesday.

So far 49.4 per cent of children aged five to 11 have been vaccinated, with the government calling on schools to play a bigger role in delivery.

Mr Hunt has asked infectious diseases expert Professor Julie Leask to lead a roundtable next week with the Commonwealth, states and health sector to look at what can be done to improve the vaccination rate, including the broader use of schools.

A study by the federal government conducted earlier this year showed at least two-thirds of parents intended to have their children vaccinated.

Some parents have been put off by vaccine misinformation, while others have found it difficult to get time off work or find an accessible local clinic.

First-dose rates for young children across the states vary from 77.2 per cent in the ACT to 42.2 per cent in Queensland, according to the latest health department data.

-AAP