Vaccination likely to be required for all international travel
As Qantas and other airlines look at the possibility of requiring coronavirus immunisation before travel, health experts and authorities have weighed in.
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“No jab, no fly” policies for international travel are almost certain to be introduced, but it should be governments, not private companies, setting vaccinations rules, one of the state’s top immunology experts says.
Qantas has become the first airline in the world to indicate it is considering making proof of vaccination a requirement to fly internationally.
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Virgin has indicated it will consider government and health advice when international travel resumes, while Air New Zealand is liaising with the International Air Transport Association’s medical advisory group on reopening travel in a safe way.
Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt said no decision on a “vaccine passport” had been made.
But he said it was likely that while the virus was still rampant around the world, people seeking entry to Australia would need to be vaccinated or isolate on arrival.
“The likely course of events during 2021 is if somebody comes to Australia and a vaccine is widely available, either they’ll be vaccinated with verification or they’ll have to quarantine,” he said.
Griffith University infectious diseases and immunology director Nigel McMillan said it was “an interesting development” to see private enterprise entering into the health space.
“The government should be setting the rules, not the airlines,” he said.
“This is something governments need to carefully think about, I would rather see this in the hands of government than private business, personally.”
Yellow Fever vaccination certificates are already needed to travel to South America, but that is a rule set by those governments, not airlines.
Prof McMillan said it was likely governments around the world would start setting vaccination as a condition of entry.
“I can’t imagine New Zealand or Australia, Japan or Taiwan or places not saying you need to be vaccinated in order to visit us,” he said.
“In the end, for any international travel you’re probably going to require vaccination.”
Prof McMillan said if 70 per cent of the population was vaccinated it would stop the virus from circulating.
A Virgin Australia group spokesman said the company would consider all relevant government and health advice at the time and make decisions in line with crew and passenger health and safety.
An Air New Zealand spokeswoman said the airline was encouraged by news of vaccines around the world and its chief medical officer was talking regularly with colleagues at other airlines and the IATA medical advisory group.
“This group is active in proposing guidelines for how to get international travel moving again in a safe way,” she said.
“Ultimately, it’s up to governments to determine when and how it is safe to reopen borders and we continue to work closely with authorities on this.”
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