The Federal Government has pulled back assertions that a COVID-19 vaccine will be mandatory for all Australians, after bona fide experts aired concerns that kind of language would deter punters from getting the jab in the first place.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison yesterday revealed that Australia has entered a preliminary agreement with UK pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca to pump out a potential coronavirus vaccine under development at Oxford University.
It’s promising news, but the deal isn’t set in stone and the vaccine is still undergoing trials, so there’s no guarantee the thing will even work.
But, taking to the radio, Morrison appeared to jump a few steps ahead. He told 2GB that he “would expect [the vaccine] to be as mandatory as you can possibly make it.”
The Guardian reports that health experts are none to keen on that kind of language, thanks to the tangled mess of factors which lead to people dodging vaccinations altogether.
That includes regular punters who might become complacent about getting a jab, and hardcore anti-vaxxers who falsely believe it’s all part of some grand plot for government control.
After those concerns bubbled up, Morrison went back on 2GB yesterday afternoon, saying “It is not going to be compulsory to have the vaccine,” adding that “No one is going to force anybody to do anything as a compulsory measure, but we certainly will encourage people to take this up.”
Speaking on Sunrise this morning, Health Minister Greg Hunt said he certainly hoped Australians voluntarily rush to get the shot when it becomes available.
Even then, he said “we’ve reserved the rights, subject to medical advice, to take steps that might assist” a widespread take-up of any eventual vaccine, pointing to the No Jab, No Pay/Play policies which already exist.
Health Minister @GregHuntMP explains how we can be sure the COVID vaccine is safe to take once it is approved. pic.twitter.com/Eq1PU7lWju
— Sunrise (@sunriseon7) August 19, 2020
The long and the short of this: When (or if) the vaccine rolls around, you’re not going to be bundled into an unmarked van and injected against your will.
