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‘Have been advised to…’: Australian PM Scott Morrison on Covishield
The Australian government is likely to announce the Oxford University-AstraZeneca jab as a ‘recognised vaccine’ for international arrivals into the country.
Covishield, the vaccine against the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca, is likely to be considered as a “recognised vaccine” for international arrivals into Australia, the country’s prime minister, Scott Morrison announced, as he laid out the federal government’s plan to reopen international borders after a gap of 18 months due to restrictions put in place to curb the spread of the viral illness.
“The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), based on its published initial assessment of data on protection offered by Covishield and Coronavac, has advised that these jabs should be considered as recognised vaccines for determining incoming international travellers as appropriately vaccinated,” Morrison, who met prime minister Narendra Modi last week in the United States, said on Friday (local time), according to news agency ANI.
The Oxford-Astrazeneca shot is known locally in India as “Covishield,” where it is manufactured by the Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII). Coronavac, meanwhile, has been developed by China’s Sinovac Biotech.
The TGA is the island nation’s medicine and therapeutic regulatory agency.
Meanwhile, speaking on the opening of international borders, the Australian PM said that these will reopen next month for provinces that have achieved at least 80 per cent rate of vaccination, starting with New South Wales (NSW), the most populous state. Fully-vaccinated Australians and permanent residents arriving in NSW will be able to quarantine at home for a week, instead of paying for quarantine at hotels for a fortnight.
To be allowed home quarantine, an individual should be fully-vaccinated with a jab declared “approved” by the TGA. The full-vaccination rule, however, does not apply to those aged below 12 or medically exempted.
However, the requirement to quarantine at a hotel for two weeks will continue for unvaccinated travellers.
According to official data, more than 78 per cent of the country’s eligible population has received their first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, while that for those who have received double doses stands at 55 per cent.
Four vaccines have already been approved and registered by the TGA: Comirnaty (by Pfizer-BioNTech SE), Vaxzevria (Oxford-AstraZeneca), Spikevax (Moderna) and the Janssen Covid-19 vaccine.
(With ANI inputs)
