Why 80% vaccination won’t get us herd immunity

Professor Tony Blakely

The first phase of Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s four-stage “pathway out of the COVID-19 pandemic”, announced on Friday, focuses on vaccinating as many Australians as possible, while halving the cap on international arrivals.

Morrison expects phase one, which we’re currently in, to be in place until 2022.

But he said it’s hard to give a definitive answer on when we’ll get to phase two because vaccination targets have not yet been set. He’s waiting for the modelling.

Phase two of Morrison’s plan is a move back to the current levels of international arrivals, and a separate cap for vaccinated travellers. Phase three sees Australians able to travel abroad and no cap on returnees.