We cannot lock out risk by locking out the unvaccinated indefinitely from everyday life. Vaccines should be part of a holistic response,alongside public health and social measures and robust testing,tracing,isolation and quarantine measures.
Victorians have emerged from what is likely to be the last of their restrictive statewide lockdowns. There is cause for celebration – at the rejuvenation of social and work life,the return of children to face-to-face schooling,and the sky-high vaccination coverage,reaching beyond all our expectations.
Nearly 90 per cent of Victorians have had two doses and this will climb. Victoria’s coverage rates between regions also have the least difference of any jurisdiction,showing the rollout has paid some attention to equity of access. The caveat here is that two-dose coverage for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the state is 12 percentage points lower at 78 per cent.
After a reprieve,next winter may bring a COVID-19 surge that looks akin to a moderate influenza season – particularly with high booster take-up. But like the flu vaccine,some people will never take a COVID-19 vaccine. The question for governments is what to do about them.
Premier Daniel Andrews has made it clear that the unvaccinated over-12s in Victoria – currently 425,817 of them – don’t fit into social and cultural life for the duration of 2022. They cannot get a haircut,go to the movies,buy clothes at a department store,nor attend a gym. They cannot join their fully vaccinated partner or daughter at a restaurant. Their presence at a wedding or funeral will mean numbers capped at 50.
Except for the medically exempted,the lockdown and lockout does not end for the unvaccinated,meaning relative isolation and hardship for them will continue,along with the distress and conflict this can cause in their families. It also affects those policing the rules in all the restricted venues where all Victorians will continue to have to show their COVID-19 vaccination certificate each time.