Vaccination rate needs to hit 70% to trigger easing of restrictions
PTI, Jul 31, 2021, 11:43 AM IST
Bruce (Australia): Seven in ten people aged 16 and over will need to be fully vaccinated for COVID restrictions to begin to be eased, under targets agreed in principle by national cabinet on Friday.
Further relaxation and opening beyond that, including a near end to lockdowns, will require 80% of those eligible to have had two doses.
At present the proportion of people 16 and over fully vaccinated is 18.24%, while nearly 40% have had a single dose.
Each targets is dual – it must be met at both the national level and in the particular state or territory. Scott Morrison described it as a “two key process”.
Announcing the targets on Friday night, Morrison said no timeline has been attached to them.
But he believed the 70% target could be reached by the end of the year.
“There will certainly be the supply and the distribution and the opportunity to do that. But whether that is achieved is up to all of us.”
The long-awaited numbers have been attached to the four-phase re-opening plan previously endorsed in principle by the national cabinet.
In the current phase, the objective is to suppress COVID, including by tough lockdowns.
The second “transition” phase, triggered by the 70% vaccination levels, seeks to minimise severe illness, hospitalisation and deaths with low level restrictions.
In this phase, lockdowns would still be possible but less likely.
Restrictions would be eased on vaccinated residents. Morrison said this was “because if you’re vaccinated, you present less of a public health risk.
“You are less likely to get the virus. You are less likely to transmit it.” But the detail of how this would operate is still to be worked out.
The third “consolidation” phase – triggered by the 80% threshold – would have only highly targeted lockdowns, such as for vulnerable communities, and would exempt vaccinated residents from all domestic restrictions.
In the final phase, COVID would be treated like other infectious diseases.
The targets follow modelling from the Doherty Institute and work by Treasury.
They come as the latest tally of cases in Sydney, where the lockdown has been extended by one month, was 170 new community cases.
Amid calls for the NSW government to impose an even tougher lockdown, Morrison said it had been agreed “under this plan, no state or territory is required to increase the restrictions beyond where they are right now.”
Morrison said in the suppression phase, “going hard early” with lockdowns “ultimately results in less cost on the economy”.
But in phase B “then the calculus does change and lockdowns do cost a lot”.
After the announcement crossbench MP Craig Kelly, who was formerly in the Liberal party, lashed out on Twitter, claiming constitutional freedoms were being violated and declaring “WE MUST FIGHT THIS”.
By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra
Udayavani is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel and stay updated with the latest news.
Top News
Related Articles More
30 detained over killing of lawyer in clash between Bangladesh police, followers of jailed Hindu leader
‘Monks targetted by Islamist elements’: ISKCON Kolkata flags Bangladesh issue to Modi govt
Jaishankar says Indo-Pacific landscape calls for wider collaborative approach, terms G7 as partner for it
Will impose 25 per cent tariff on all imports from Canada, Mexico: Trump
Internal divisions leave open question whether Gandhi’s vision will ever be fully realised in India: Bill Clinton
MUST WATCH
Latest Additions
Sunil Chhetri helps Bengaluru FC stage comeback win over Mohammedan SC
Seer expresses regret over his comments on denying voting power to Muslims
Nearly 50 pc of Dakshina Kannada’s coastline in Karnataka has eroded: MoS K V Singh
Rapid industrialisation shouldn’t come at cost of our environment: Minister Eshwar Khandre
Family court grants divorce to actor Dhanush and Aishwarya Rajinikanth
Thanks for visiting Udayavani
You seem to have an Ad Blocker on.
To continue reading, please turn it off or whitelist Udayavani.