Right image via theupsider.com.au //
Gonna be interesting to see the response…
Things are definitely gonna get interesting once the COVID-19 vaccine begins being administered in Australia in mid-to-late February, with the population as a whole seeming to have varying degrees of desire to get the jab. Well, now those wanting to decline (those in Sydney anyway) might be slightly more inclined to get on board now, thanks to a potential plan from the NSW government.
If the plan goes ahead, Sydneysiders might have to say goodbye to restaurants and pubs if they haven’t got the jab, in a bid to drive up vaccination rates and thus achieve herd immunity. Speaking on the incentive to get vaccinated, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said “Clearly, opportunities to travel overseas or opportunities to enter certain workplaces or venues might be enhanced if you have the vaccine.
“Some of those decisions could be inspired by government, and some of those decisions might be inspired by the organisation themselves.”
Speaking to Nine Radio yesterday, the Premier said “I don’t ever like to force anybody to do anything, but we’d like there to be an incentive system where people are encouraged to have it because it means they can do all these things which they may otherwise not have been able to do.”
Of course fully aware of the apprehension surrounding the vaccine, Berejiklian stressed that “Nothing would get approved unless it was safe.
“I want people to start thinking about the vaccine, how they would feel about it if they were offered it and I would encourage everyone to take up that offer. The more people that are vaccinated, the greater likelihood that we can have a return to normality as we know it.”
No doubt its a move that could get a pretty emotive response, but it seems this is already in the works for international travel, with Qantas CEO Alan Joyce getting the ball rolling for international travel, but stating that travellers would have to show proof that they’ve been vaccinated.
“We are looking at changing our terms and conditions to say that, for international travellers, we will ask people to have a vaccination before they get on the aircraft,” he said last year.
“Whether you need that domestically, we will have to see with COVID-19 and the market but certainly, for international visitors coming out [of Australia] and people leaving the country we think that’s a necessity.”
