A JAB
FOR A JOB?
They have been hailed as a game changer for the cruise industry, so could
approved Covid-19 vaccines become mandatory for travel and visa
requirements, and could non-compliance be a barrier to employment?
HELEN KELLY considers the future of biosecurity and work.
In December 2020, a British grandmother
became the first person in the world to
be given the Pfizer Covid-19 jab as part of
a mass vaccination programme. The historic
moment, hailed as the beginning of the end to the
global health crisis, has since led to questions
over availability and who should be prioritised
for the jab, and whether governments and private
industry might mandate immunisation for access
to benefits and services, and ultimately require
vaccination for travel and employment purposes.
Many countries insist on proof of vaccinations
for diseases such as yellow fever or polio in the
form of an International Certificate of Vaccina-tion
or Prophylaxis (ICVP) before entering their
borders.
48 SUOMEN MERENKULKU J FINLANDS SJÖFART
Some countries require citizens to be vacci-nated
for other non-Covid diseases in order to
access government services. For example,
Australia’s prime minister Scott Morrison
introduced a ‘no jab no pay’ policy in 2015 that
requires children to be immunised for their
parents to be eligible for family tax benefit
payments and the federal childcare subsidy,
according to LSJ. The move was enabled under
Australia’s Biosecurity Act 2015, which also
provides emergency powers to government in the
Covid-19 pandemic – including a cruise line ban
until April 2021, to be reviewed shortly.
Pre-pandemic, Australia’s state government of
Victoria passed legislation to compel healthcare
workers to be vaccinated, with Covid expected
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G A coalition of
tech companies
is companies is
working on a
digital vaccine
passport.
IMAGE: PIXABAY
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