It is hoped that this national vaccination program will lead to the relaxation of international travel restrictions—which are particularly relevant to international students who remain in the dark when the borders are reopened for them.
Australia received 150 million doses of vaccine; on Monday, 142,000 doses of the Prixer/BioNTech variant arrived in Sydney. The roll-out is expected to begin on 22 February and will last until mid-October. The AstraZeneca/Oxford University vaccine was recently approved for use in Australia by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA). Beginning in late March, the latter will be manufactured locally in Melbourne.
“We need to make sure that everybody who’s on Australian soil is safe, and everybody who’s on Australian soil has access to protection. That means the government will provide COVID-19 vaccinations free to all visa holders in Australia. This will include refugees, asylum seekers, temporary protection visa holders, and those on bridging visas,” said Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt.
Although it is not mandatory, the COVID-19 vaccination policy states that those who are not vaccinated may not be able to travel freely. It reads: “While the Australian government strongly supports immunisation and will run a strong campaign to encourage vaccination, it is not mandatory and individuals may choose not to vaccinate. There may, however, be circumstances where the Australian government and other governments may introduce border entry or re-entry requirements that are conditional on proof of vaccination.”
Source: studyinternational
