Highlights
- Australia's international borders could open sooner than expected: PM Scott Morrison
- PM Scott Morrison, Prof Brendan Murphy said the decision to reopen will depend on the efficacy of the vaccines
- Questions remain on how effective vaccines are in reducing transmission, say health experts
Mr Morrison signalled that the reopening of the country’s international borders would largely depend on the efficacy of the vaccines in containing the spread of the virus.
"The key thing I think is going to impact on that decision, is going to be whether the evidence emerges about transmissibility, and how the vaccine protects against that," the prime minister told during a Facebook Live on Wednesday.
Mr Morrison, however, refrained from providing a timeframe.
"If it indeed does stop transmission between people, then that could be quite a game-changer, but that will not be evident for some time yet," he said.
The Prime Minister's views were echoed by Federal Health Department Secretary Brendan Murphy who had last month said that the country’s .
In his latest interview, Professor Murphy said the decision to reopen international travel now hinges upon how effective vaccines turn out to be in preventing the virus from spreading from one person to another.
Doctor in protective gloves & workwear filling injection syringe with COVID-19 vaccine. Source: Getty
"If, as we suspect these vaccines are effective at preventing transmission, the sooner we get the population vaccinated, the sooner people — not only will they be protected, but we will get on this path towards good herd immunity, and that will speed up the return to international travel," he said.
How effective will the vaccines be in reducing the transmission?
But while Australia has largely succeeded in containing the virus, many other countries around the world are still grappling with lockdowns, fresh COVID-19 cases and fatalities. And while immunisation drives are being rolled out in several countries, there are questions about how effective these vaccines will be at reducing the spread of the virus.
Tony Blakely, an epidemiologist and public health specialist at the University of Melbourne said that it is likely that partial border restrictions and quarantine will be retained as part of arrangements for returning travellers for "quite some time".
"It is important to realise that vaccine gives protection against serious illness. How much protection it gives against picking up an infection, unfortunately, is not yet known.
"So that means if somebody is vaccinated in the UK who travels to Australia will probably still need to go into quarantine for quite some period of time because they could still be carrying the virus," Professor Blakely told SBS Punjabi last month.
'A ray of hope for families stranded offshore'
Travelers arriving at Sydney International Airport. (Representational image). Source: AAP
Work visa holder Karan Singh, who is stuck in the northern Indian state of Punjab despite getting an inward exemption due to the paucity of flights said this is the first “good news” he has heard ever since the federal government closed its borders to non-citizens and non-permanent residents in March last year.
The 36-year-old techie whose family’s request for exemption was declined last week said this could well mean an early return for his wife and son who have already received a vaccine jab.
“I got an exemption under the critical skills category, but my wife and son have not received approval despite multiple attempts.
“The Prime Minister’s statement, has, however, lifted my hopes and since India has already started giving vaccination, I think things will become better for those who remain stranded offshore,” Mr Singh said.
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