Is it time to rethink vaccine mandates for dining, fitness and events? We asked 5 experts

The requirement to show proof of two doses of a COVID vaccine to do things such as eat out, go to the pub and visit sporting events is still in place across parts of the country including Victoria^[1], Queensland^[2] and Western Australia^[3].

Part of the rationale for such mandates is to limit transmission of the virus, and therefore also protect vulnerable people who may be at risk of severe disease.

But the arrival of the Omicron variant has changed the COVID landscape in Australia. Emerging evidence suggests two doses of COVID vaccine provides little protection against infection^[4] against the highly-infectious Omicron variant – though they’re still effective against severe disease.

So we asked five experts, is it time to rethink vaccine mandates for dining, fitness and events?

Here’s what they said.

References

1. ^{^} Victoria (www.coronavirus.vic.gov.au)
2. ^{^} Queensland (www.abc.net.au)
3. ^{^} Western Australia (www.watoday.com.au)
4. ^{^} little protection against infection (www.imperial.ac.uk)