In a press conference on Wednesday, the Australian government officials signaled that they will take all the necessary measures to more or less mandate vaccinations when the vaccine for Covid-19 becomes available.
Dr. Nick Coatsworth, who has been deeply involved in the Australian efforts against the global pandemic, said that the officials are looking into a specific list of actions that could be taken to encourage and essentially mandate vaccination across the nation.
To be specific, Coatsworth mentioned restricting access to public places such as restaurants, banning unvaccinated individuals from traveling internationally and denying them on public transportations such as trains and buses.
In order to prove that they have been vaccinated, the medical expert mentioned measures such as government certificates that would vouch for the individual. At the same time, he added that there is no way that the government can mandate these policies under the current law.
Just the day before, the Australian government signed a deal with Oxford University that guarantees the quickest provision of vaccines when it becomes available. The earliest timelines estimate that this British vaccine may become available by the end of this year.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison and his cabinet has set an internal goal of having at least 95% of Australia’s population vaccinated by early 2021. This goal is of course wholly dependent on how soon the vaccine can be discovered and approved.
While Coatsworth and others expressed their confidence that they trust the Australians to make the right decision, the country has implemented negative incentives to urge people to get vaccinated. In 2015, a policy named ‘No Jab, No Pay’ banned people from receiving various benefits when they refuse to vaccinate their children.
After PM Morrison made his position clear by saying he wants to make vaccines “as mandatory as possible”, anti-vaxxers erupted in various online forums. However, the PM doubled down on his words, stating that medical reasons should be the only excuse to refuse vaccination.
When asked if he feared the retribution from the anti-vaccination groups, Morrison shrugged the threats off. He said that he has gotten used to the anti-vaxxers, especially because he was the one who enforced the aforementioned ‘No Jab, No Pay’ rule.
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Replaced!