SYDNEY, Aug 19, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Australia should make any coronavirus
vaccine compulsory for its 25 million citizens bar medical exemptions, Prime
Minister Scott Morrison said Wednesday, wading into a heated ethical debate.
After reaching a deal for the country to manufacture a “promising” vaccine
being developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University, Morrison said getting
the jab should be “as mandatory as you can possibly make it”.
“There are always exemptions for any vaccine on medical grounds, but that
should be the only basis,” he told radio station 3AW in Melbourne.
Anticipating a backlash from vocal anti-vaccine activists, Morrison said
the stakes were too high to allow the disease to continue unchecked.
“We’re talking about a pandemic that has destroyed the global economy and
taken the lives of hundreds of thousands all around the world,” he said,
while stressing the government has not yet made a decision.
The Australian government estimates that up to 95 percent of the
population would need to be immune to the virus for it to be irradicated.
“We need the most extensive and comprehensive response to this to get
Australia back to normal,” Morrison said, after announcing the vaccine would
be free to all Australians.
The country already has “no jab, no play” rules that mean kids have to
receive vaccines for diseases including polio and tetanus to enrol in
kindergarten or school.
But debate still rages about whether those rules impinge on personal
freedoms, and hardline anti-vaxers flood online forums with conspiracy
theories and misinformation about the risks.
The coronavirus pandemic — which has killed more than 400 Australians —
has coincided with a sharp uptick in online misinformation, speculation and
opposition to vaccines — something experts have dubbed an “infodemic”.
No effective vaccine for coronavirus has yet been released, although
Morrison said he was optimistic one could be developed by early next year,
with manufacturing taking just a few months more.
“As soon as we get the recipe we’ll be making it,” he said.