Covishield among accepted vaccines as Australia prepares to open next month

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison says all fully vaccinated people will be able to travel in and out of Australia from early next month.

PM Scott Morrison announced, “Australians have made great sacrifices to achieve that result, and that has been a heavy burden not being able to go to funerals, children not able to go to school, families not able to come together in significant religious celebrations, not being able to sing in church, all of these things whether they be seen as small sacrifices or very great sacrifices, they have imposed a heavy burden on Australians.

Australian PM Scott Morrison said it was time to give Australians their lives back.

“We’ve saved lives with saving livelihoods, but we must work together to ensure that Australians can reclaim the lives that they once had in this country, and we must work together to achieve that goal. That’s what the national plan is all about,” said Mr Morrison, addressing the media after the national cabinet meeting on Friday.

“Australians who are fully vaccinated and permanent residents of Australia who are overseas, who are fully vaccinated, to be able to travel again and to be able to lift those caps on our airports in states where they have moved into phase C of the programme and that is where Australia is now preparing to move. This will happen next month,” he announced.

He said that as states move into those 80% vaccination rates from next month, they will enable their residents and citizens to leave the country and return.

Those residents and Australians who are overseas will be able to return to Australia, if they have been vaccinated.

“What needs to happen for that to occur, to reopen safely and to stay safely open under our national plan? Firstly, we need home quarantine pilots in New South Wales and South Australia to conclude and be successful, so they can be rolled out at a scale that seven day home quarantine for Australian citizens and permanent residents fully vaccinated with a vaccine approved for use in Australia or recognised by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA). And 14 days managed quarantine for anyone not vaccinated or vaccinated with the vaccine not approved or recognised by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA),” explained the Prime Minister.

He said that once changes are made in November, the current overseas travel restrictions related to COVID-19 will be removed, and Australians in those states will be able to travel.

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According to the plan, Australians who want to travel overseas once restrictions are removed will be able to access an internationally recognised proof of vaccination document in the coming weeks to prove their vaccination status abroad. That proof of vaccination for international travel will include a QR code that is readable globally; it works with the systems used worldwide.

Regarding the vaccines approved in Australia, Morrison said that in addition to the four COVID-19 vaccines that have also been approved and registered for use by the TGA, the federal agency has also been reviewing other vaccines in widespread use worldwide.

TGA has published its initial assessment of two other vaccines and is advised to approve these vaccines. These vaccines are Sinovac and Covishield, which are used in China and India, respectively.

Read: Australian Department of Home Affairs on Travel for vaccinated Australians