NSW health authorities are more likely to introduce a ‘no jab, no entry’ policy instead of mandatory vaccination if a successful COVID-19 vaccine is acquired, the state’s top doctor said.
Chief Medical Officer Kerry Chant told Ben Fordham on 2GB there are precedents for non-vaccinated people being denied entry to certain locations.
“We sometimes make policies around preventing certain groups of people from entering environments without being vaccinated,” Dr Chant said.
Dr Chant said those people included non-vaccinated health workers who could come into contact with vulnerable patients.
In those cases it was done to “protect the most vulnerable groups” in society, such as people in aged care facilities and hospitals.
Yesterday the Federal Government’s announcement it had signed a letter of intent with UK-based drug company AstraZeneca.
The deal will see Australia purchase enough doses for every citizen of the Oxford University’s vaccine if it is proven to be successful.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he wanted to make the vaccine “as mandatory as possible”. But he has since walked back suggestions of compulsory vaccinations.
Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt told A Current Affair he “wouldn’t rule out” refusing entry to non-vaccinated Australians returning from overseas.
But Dr Chant suggested the focus on how many people would refuse to be vaccinated is misplaced.
She said Australia had one of the highest vaccination rates in the world and generally people.
“The evidence is people will embrace vaccination.”
Source: 9news
