{"id":7695,"date":"2021-03-17T11:32:44","date_gmt":"2021-03-17T11:32:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coffeeobsession.com.au\/?p=3206"},"modified":"2023-10-20T07:18:03","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T07:18:03","slug":"coronavirus-vaccine-program-rolls-out-in-australia-and-new-zealand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/absoluteimmigration.com\/news\/coronavirus-vaccine-program-rolls-out-in-australia-and-new-zealand","title":{"rendered":"Coronavirus vaccine program rolls out in Australia and New Zealand"},"content":{"rendered":"

Vaccine passports, the future of international travels?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak, scientists from around the world have collaborated, innovated, and worked together to develop vaccines. So far more than 390 million doses have been administered in 128 countries with approximately 9.5 million doses administrated daily, according to\u00a0Bloomberg<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Undoubtedly, this is one of the biggest vaccination campaigns in history. To the date, there are\u00a0seven different vaccines<\/a>\u00a0that have been approved (Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, Oxford-AstraZeneca, CanSino, Sinopharm, Sinovac, and Sinopharm-Wuhan), and more than\u00a0200 additional vaccine candidates<\/a>\u00a0are in development, of which more than 60 are in clinical development.<\/p>\n

Vaccines are a critical tool in the battle against COVID-19 and for us, they provide hope for a return to unrestricted international travel, through the possibility of a \u2018vaccine passport\u2019.<\/p>\n

Vaccine passports, also known as \u2018immunity or COVID passports\u2019, will be free mobile apps where international travellers can upload their proof of vaccination, as well as coronavirus test results and other health waivers. Governments, airline companies, and organisations, such as the International\u00a0Air Transport Association (IATA)<\/a>, have been working on different platforms to digitize individual paper vaccination certificates into internationally recognized passes to travel, which will be verifiable, safe, and privacy-protecting.<\/p>\n

Whether in digital or paper form, in the future, vaccine passports or proof of vaccination will be key in giving governments the confidence to re-open borders as well as making it easier to access venues domestically, such as pubs or sports stadiums.<\/p>\n

Australia and New Zealand have indicated support for introducing a vaccine passport. The Australian airline Qantas will eventually ask its passengers to prove that they have had a vaccination to board their flights and Air New Zealand has already begun trialling a type of immunity passport.<\/p>\n

While both countries have begun to immunise citizens and visa holders against COVID-19, travel restrictions in Australia and New Zealand remain in place and any trial of immunity passports are currently not an alternative to a mandatory 14-day quarantine.<\/p>\n

Australia vaccination program<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Australian Government currently has four separate agreements for the supply of COVID-19 vaccines and has invested more than AUD$3.3 billion in promising vaccine candidates, as well as AUD$363 million to support research and development.<\/p>\n

So far, 86,369 vaccines have been administrated since 21 February 2021 when the program started and it\u2019s expected that the whole population will receive the jab by the end of the year.<\/p>\n

Who will receive a vaccine?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The COVID-19 vaccine is voluntary and everyone in Australia, including citizens, permanent residents, and visa holders, will be offered a safe and effective vaccine for free.<\/p>\n

Even those who have already had COVID-19 can still receive the vaccine to help protect against getting the virus again or passing it onto someone else.<\/p>\n

Although the Government initially indicated that some visa holders would need to pay for the vaccine, they have since\u00a0announced<\/a>\u00a0that all visa holders will receive the vaccine for free, including subclass 600 (Tourist), subclass 771 (Transit), 651 (Visitor), and 601 (Electronic Travel Authority). The Government clarified that free vaccines will be offered to all people living in Australia to ensure the maximum possible coverage in the country.<\/p>\n

When will you get a vaccine?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Australia\u2019s COVID-19 vaccines will become available in phases and the government has created an\u00a0app<\/a>\u00a0where you can check your eligibility and see when you can book a vaccination.<\/p>\n