Happy campers: Straddie vaccine mandate axed as AstraZeneca jab withdrawn
Stradbroke Island campers will no longer have to prove their Covid vaccination status, years after lockdown ended. It is believed to be the last place in Queensland where the rule existed.
Redlands Coast
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Stradbroke Island campground managers have finally abolished obligatory vaccination certificates, days after the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine was withdrawn worldwide and more than two years after the Covid pandemic was declared over.
It was believed to have been the last area in Queensland with a proof of vaccination requirement.
Minjerribah Camping, which operates six campgrounds at Dunwich, Amity and Point Lookout, no longer requires proof of vaccination, lifting the mandate in April ahead of this month’s Labour Day long weekend.
It was the first time since the 2020 Covid pandemic that campers at Straddie and Moreton were free to book without having to show proof of vaccination.
The campsite’s online booking terms and conditions no longer mention the vaccination certificate requirement, which came into effect in December 2021.
Minjerribah Camping was contacted for comment.
A Stradbroke Island community Facebook site publicly alerted campers to the restrictions being lifted.
A Queensland Health spokeswoman said there were no COVID-19 vaccination mandates still in effect in the state, with the last lifted late last year.
“As of September 25, 2023, Queensland Health and Queensland Ambulance Service no longer mandate COVID-19 vaccination for employees, prospective employees, contractors, agency workers, students, and volunteers,’’ she said.
Happy camper Helen Toohey, who was staying at the Flinders Beach campsite, confirmed she did not have to provide proof of vaccination.
“We didn’t have to provide proof of vaccination. It is the first time we haven’t had to since Covid times.”
However, some anomalies have continued with one prospective camper, Chris Jardyne, sent a link to fill out a form to confirm vaccinations while trying to make a booking for September.
The vaccination requirement was officially lifted days after the pharmaceutical giant Oxford-AstraZeneca admitted for the first time in court documents in April that its vaccine could cause a rare and dangerous side effect.
The company voluntarily withdrew its marketing authorisation and the vaccine could no longer be used in the European Union.
The application to withdraw the vaccine was made on March 5. It came into effect on May 7.
AstraZeneca Pty Ltd voluntarily cancelled VAXZEVRIA, previously COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca, from the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods on April 23.
The move to lift the island vaccine mandate came as Stradbroke Island campsites started filling up for the September school holidays and for the state’s next long weekend, the King’s birthday on October 7.
Campers were also told that the Amity Point campground will be closed from this week until May 21 for further renovations. No bookings will be taken.
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