Leaders cold on NSW push to make Covid vaccination requirement for entry
State and territory leaders have poured cold water on Gladys Berejiklian’s suggestion that Covid vaccination could be required to travel, enter pubs and clubs and access government buildings.
The ACT chief minister, Andrew Barr, said on Tuesday that if vaccines prevented the spread of coronavirus the idea could have “some merit in high-risk circumstances”, but otherwise the New South Wales premier’s call seemed “a little odd”.
The Tasmanian premier, Peter Gutwein, has warned it is “too early in the piece” to consider making vaccination a requirement to enter government buildings or private businesses until the voluntary rollout is further advanced.
On Tuesday, Essential released a new poll suggesting that 42% of respondents would get vaccinated “as soon as possible” with a further 47% saying they would be vaccinated but not straight away.
Just 11% of the poll’s 1,084 respondents said they would “never” get vaccinated against Covid-19.
Some 51% of men and 54% of over-55s said they would ask for the jab “as soon as possible”. By contrast, 55% of women and 57% of those aged 18 to 34 said they were happier to wait, stating they would get vaccinated but “not straight away”.
Minor party and independent voters were the most likely to shun the vaccine, with 25% of voters who did not prefer the Coalition, Labor or the Greens saying they would never be vaccinated.
The national cabinet will meet on Friday, with the vaccine rollout to be one of the top agenda items. The Pfizer vaccine is expected to be approved in Australia by late January, with the first vaccinations from mid-February.
The prime minister, Scott Morrison, has called for uniform national public health orders to be enacted by states and territories determining when vaccines can be required.
Early discussions at national cabinet have focused on requiring frontline health and aged care workers to get the vaccine, along with visitors to aged care facilities – reproducing existing requirements for flu and measles vaccination.
Given the early focus on at-risk populations, state and territory governments consider it is too early to set requirements for the general adult population, who will not be vaccinated until the fourth phase of the rollout.
Barr told reporters in Canberra allowing businesses to refuse unvac
cinated people had not been considered “at this point” but there were “many occupations where obviously it would be in the best interests of a worker” and the person in their care to be vaccinated.
“As to whether [the requirement] extends outside beyond particular professions or particular high-risk circumstances is something that would need to be given a good deal of consideration,” he said.
The ACT chief minister said the answer may depend on whether Covid-19 vaccines were effective at not just protecting the vaccinated person but also preventing them from spreading the virus.
“The idea is that by being vaccinated you are better placed not to spread the virus. [If that is the case] then there may be some merit in requiring vaccination in certain highrisk circumstances,” Barr said. “But if it makes no difference to the transmission of the virus, then the idea of mandating it does seem a little odd.”
Barr said the idea that vaccines could be “a passport to do anything you want … I don’t think is helpful, given what we don’t know at this point” about whether they stop asymptomatic spread.
Barr said as a starting point “national consistency is always preferable” but jurisdictions that have effectively eliminated the virus may be “reluctant to lower their standards” if there was disagreement in national cabinet on vaccine requirements.
On Monday, Gutwein said the Tasmanian government hadn’t considered refusing unvaccinated people access to public buildings
“As we have a strong history of significant coverage in terms of vaccination in Tasmania, I would hope we’d see the vast majority of people see the sense of being vaccinated,” he said.
“Obviously the rollout will take some time, until the end of the year, until we get to that critical mass of Tasmanians. I think it’s too early in the piece to be considering steps like that.”
On Monday, the Queensland premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, sidestepped a question about whether the government could require vaccination for people to access public services, telling reporters she would wait to see the commonwealth’s proposed rollout schedule.
“But once again, if [Queensland chief health officer] Dr [Jeannette] Young says it’s safe to have the vaccine, I’ll be having the vaccine.”
A Queensland health spokesperson told Guardian Australia “we will be encouraging all Queenslanders who are able to be vaccinated to be vaccinated”.
A Victorian Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson said “all Victorians will be encouraged to get vaccinated against coronavirus when vaccines are available”.
“Everyone has a role in protecting themselves and their communities against coronavirus by being vaccinated,” they said.