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The European Union's drug regulator said Monday it has begun evaluating a request by Pfizer Inc and BioNTech to extend approval of their coronavirus vaccine to include children ranging in age from 12 to 15.

The European Medicines Agency's human medicines committee will carry out an accelerated assessment of data submitted by Pfizer and BioNTech and is expected to reach a decision in June, unless it requires extra information, the agency said.

In a statement Friday, the two pharmaceuticals said their request is based on an advanced study in more than 2000 adolescents that showed their vaccine to be safe and effective.

READ MORE: 100 million people fully vaccinated in the US

READ MORE: The world is in the midst of its worst coronavirus outbreak yet

The children will continue to be monitored for longer-term protection and safety for another two years.

The companies' vaccine is currently approved for use in people ages 16 years and older.

Extending that approval to the younger age group could offer younger and less at-risk populations in Europe access to the shot for the first time.

Most COVID-19 vaccines approved by authorities around the world are for adults, who are at higher risk, but health officials believe vaccinating children of all ages will be critical to stopping the pandemic.

Some research has shown that older children may play a role in spreading the virus.

Residents north of Brisbane are disgusted by a crime scene left untouched for weeks after an alleged double homicide.

Police investigators and forensics left long ago, leaving locals questioning who was responsible for the cleanup.

Adam Jayson Bird, 24, is accused of shooting 32-year-old Aaron Davis and 23-year-old Daytona James Paul at a Caboolture apartment complex on April 17.

READ MORE: Caboolture double murder accused faces court

A fortnight on, the Lower King Street residents still see a daily reminder of the horror.

"The most upsetting thing, I mean I saw a body outside of my window," Garry, a body corporate secretary who didn't give his second name, told 9News.

The crime scene has been left untouched, with blood still visible on the doorstep and inside the unit where the men were allegedly killed.

Resident Taliah Graham said walking past the scene every day brought back memories and fellow resident Tiana Downie said visiting families saw the blood when they dropped off flowers.

"It's just disgusting, police should have cleaned it up properly," Ms Graham said.

By law, it's the unit owner's job to organise forensic cleaning.

For now, residents are being told to deal with it.

Some said they were considering moving away.

German prosecutors have busted one of the world's biggest international darknet platforms for child pornography, used by more than 400,000 registered members.

Frankfurt prosecutors said on Monday in a statement together with the Federal Criminal Police Office that in mid-April three German suspects, said to be the administrators of the "Boystown" platform, were arrested along with a German user. One of the three main suspects was arrested in Paraguay.

They also searched seven buildings in connection with the porn ring in mid-April in Germany.

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The authorities said the platform was "one of the world's biggest child pornography darknet platforms" and had been active at least since 2019. Paedophiles used it to exchange and watch pornography of children and toddlers, most of them boys, from all over the world.

Australian law enforcement authorities were called on to help with the investigation, along with those from the Netherlands, Sweden, the United States and Canada. A German police task force was set up to investigate the platform, its administrators and users for months in cooperation with Europol and the international partners.

Prosecutors wrote that they found "images of most severe sexual abuse of toddlers" among the photos and video material.

"The platform had several forums and chats — the illegal pictures and videos were kept in the forums; in the chats, the members could communicate," prosecutor Julia Bussweiler said. "There were several language channels to facilitate the communication."

The three main suspects were a 40-year-old man from Paderborn, a 49-year-old man from Munich and a 58-year-old man from northern Germany who had been living in Paraguay for many years, the prosecutors' statement said. They worked as administrators of the site and gave advice to members on how to evade law enforcement when using the platform for illegal child pornography.

A fourth suspect, a 64-year-old man from Hamburg, is accused of being one of the most active users of the platform having allegedly uploaded more than 3500 posts.

Germany has requested the extradition of the suspect who was arrested in Paraguay.

No names were given in line with Germany privacy regulations.

After the raids in mid-April, the online platform was shut down.

Germany's top security official thanked the authorities for their success.

"This investigative success has a clear message: Those who assault the weakest aren't safe anywhere," German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said.

"That's what investigators work for day and night, online and offline, globally."

"We'll do everything within our power to protect the kids from these disgusting crimes," he added.

The nation has taken a big leap forward on its path out of the pandemic, with all Australians over 50 now eligible for the AstraZeneca vaccine.

But for New South Wales, it's baby steps.

The state is still three weeks away from mass vaccinations as Victoria rolls out super clinics, inoculating thousands of people on Friday.

LIVE UPDATES: Australia's quarantine benchmark revealed

People aged between 50 and 70 will be able to get the jab as part of phase 2A.

Sydney's Bondi Junction was home to one of just 13 respiratory clinics administering AstraZeneca, with more than 100 people booked in.

Sydney's numbers pale in comparison to the supercharged rollout in Melbourne, where the doors of six mass vaccination clinics were thrown open to anyone over 50.

Fifteen new state-run centres opened on Friday in addition to the six hubs already operating.

Chair of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Jane Halton said vaccination was the only way out of the coronavirus pandemic, imploring those eligible to get the jab.

"(It's) the only way that we get out," Professor Halton told Today.

"Certainly the people I know over the age of 50 are trying to figure out when they can get vaccinated, so hopefully they go and line up."

READ MORE: EU sues AstraZeneca over vaccine delivery

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Another will open in Cranbourne in the city's outer south-east on Saturday, bringing the total to 22.

Sydney is also set to get a mass vaccination centre at Olympic Park but it has not yet opened.

Professor Halton said a mixed approach to rolling out the vaccines was needed so people could access the jab at GPs, sites, clinics and mass hubs.

"We need all of those approaches," she said.

"We need all of those health professionals … we want them to be able to administer these vaccines, some of them in mass centres and again (in) practice."

READ MORE: Multiple US states resume use of Johnson & Johnson vaccine

GPs will be able to give jabs in the coming weeks.

Over-50s are being offered the AstraZeneca jab as the federal government desperately tries to speed up its vaccine rollout after a myriad of problems, including supply issues, logistical problems and changing health advice including the very rare chance of blood clots.

Australia has given out two million vaccines and has missed all its planned targets, with the Prime Minister refusing to set any more.

READ MORE: Bunnings open to using warehouses as vaccination hubs

The nation had planned to have four million vaccinated by the end of March, but only managed one million.

Over-50s can check online how to get their jab.

A man has lost his leg after an accident involving an industrial lawn mower in the Hawkesbury, north-west of Sydney.

The 56-year-old was operating the mower on a property at Wilberforce about 4.25pm when he suffered an amputation to the lower leg, CareFlight said in a release.

CareFlight's specialist doctor and a NSW Ambulance critical care paramedic assessed the man, including an ultrasound, and provided treatment for the wound.

He was intubated and placed in an induced coma.

He was airlifted to Westmead Hospital in a stable condition.

Brittany Higgins has called on the government to "act" following her recent meeting with Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

Ms Higgins last week met with Mr Morrison, Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese, and Shadow Minister for Women Tanya Plibersek.

The former Liberal staffer went public in February with allegations she was sexually assaulted by a male political staffer in then-Defence Industry Minister Linda Reynolds' ministerial office in the early hours of March 23, 2019.

READ MORE: Brittany Higgins meeting with Scott Morrison 'difficult'

This evening, Ms Higgins took to social media with a new statement.

"For too long the culture of silence has allowed workplace bullying, harassment and other inappropriate conduct to go unchecked," she said.

"Big thank-you to the women who stood by my side to lend their expertise and offer support on the day. I'm so grateful to you all.

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"Cultural change is only achieved when we stand up and say 'enough is enough'. The onus is now on the (government) to show leadership and act."

Ms Higgins has been pushing for cultural reform in Parliament since then and last week described her first meeting with Mr Morrison as "difficult".

"It was a difficult conversation to have on a personal level," Ms Higgins said.

READ MORE: Brittany Higgins writes to PM about her wishes for upcoming meeting

She said the discussion with Mr Morrison was "honest and frank", and she believes the prime minister now has a deeper understanding of what happened to her.

"He fundamentally seemed to understand what had happened to me… and that was encouraging," Ms Higgins said.

Mr Morrison said he was pleased to hear more about how he can make parliament workplaces "safe and more respectful".

"We are committed to reform of the Parliamentary workplace," he said in a statement.

Mr Albanese praised Ms Higgins' "extraordinary courage".

"We need to listen to women and to listen to their concerns, to listen to the experience that they've gone through, and to listen to their views about solutions," he said.