Pandemic advisers warn of long-term exclusion of the unvaccinated

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In a month’s time, Victorians who have received two doses of a COVID vaccine can expect to face few restrictions except for wearing a mask in certain indoor locations such as public transportation, hospitals and elderly care. But it’s a very different story for the unvaccinated.

Prime Minister Daniel Andrews said on Sunday that those who did not receive the jab could visit other people’s homes and purchase the basics, but they would be excluded from the vast majority of other places.

“Whether it’s a bookstore, shoe store, pub, cafe, restaurant, MCG, the list goes on and on. You will not be able to participate as a fully vaccinated person because you are not a fully vaccinated person, ”he said.

Epidemiologist Tony Blakely described the roadmap as a finely balanced swing that should be fine-tuned based on the number of cases.

But he warned that once 90% of eligible Australians had received a double dose – and infections had declined significantly – “it would be unethical at this point to keep unvaccinated people out of society.

“But if the number of cases goes up again, you may have to reactivate it, and my prediction is that we will activate and deactivate the vaccine certificate system for at least a year,” he said.

Monash University’s epidemiological modeling unit chief James Trauer said he supported the government’s focus on immunization in its updated roadmap, but questioned the need to commit to immunization mandates extending until next year, especially for adolescents.

“With a bit of luck [by then] we’ll just have the epidemic under better control and we won’t need to. “

From the end of November, people over the age of 11 who are not vaccinated will be excluded from all retail services, except basic, by prohibiting them from dining in restaurants, going to a hairdresser or going to a hairstylist. make it to big events, for example. However, the unvaccinated could participate in small funerals, weddings and religious gatherings.

COVID-19 is not as dangerous in children as it is in adults. Associate Professor Trauer said, in his mind, that the risk was not high enough to justify the terms for this age group.

“It’s a bit of a judgment call, but I think you need a pretty clear public health rationale to make vaccination mandatory for 12-15 year olds, and I don’t think we have that,” he said. he declared.

The director of the Burnet Institute, Brendan Crabb, said he believed it was acceptable to give more rights to the vaccinated as Victorian remained in “such uncertain territory”, noting that there were countries he could not visit without a yellow fever vaccination.

But, like the other experts, he said the policy should have a time limit.

“As we begin to see how much we have things under control… it would obviously be good, as soon as possible and as much as possible, to move away from the differences between vaccinated and unvaccinated people,” he said. declared.

Responding to the latest roadmap update, Professor Crabb said it was important for the coronavirus count to stay low using non-vaccine measures, including better ventilation and allowing contact tracing systems to function properly.

University of South Australia epidemiologist Adrian Esterman agreed further action was needed and questioned the government’s relaxation of the mask’s mandate.

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“If it were up to me, I would continue to wear a mask for a long time, potentially for a few years,” he said.

“We can’t just rely on vaccines – they have to be vaccines as well as some public health measures. The masks aren’t expensive, they’re easy to use, and they do a great job of stopping the infection.

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