Mandates for COVID-19 vaccines, including vaccine passports post-vaccination or with presumed immunity and incentives, are under consideration or already being implemented in several public and private settings in Australia and globally, according to a leading network of vaccination researchers.

For example, Qantas CEO Alan Joyce has indicated that passengers will need to be vaccinated to fly, while countries such as Israel have employed a “green pass” for access to venues.

Mandatory COVID-19 vaccination has been debated as a strategy to get high vaccination coverage and protect individuals in certain settings.

However, there remains a poor understanding of what mandates are, how they work, and their implications for ethics and human behaviour. 

The Collaboration on Social Science and Immunisation (COSSI), Australia’s leading network of vaccination researchers, Indigenous people, consumers and people involved in immunisation policy and practice, is working to improve vaccine acceptance and uptake.

COSSI will host a webinar to address these questions, with global experts in the field sharing their forthcoming research. 

The webinar, 'Exploring mandated COVID-19 vaccinations' will be held online this Monday 26 July from 2pm to 4pm AEST.

Speakers will include Dr Katie Attwell (COSSI/The University of Western Australia), Professor Julie Leask (COSSI/University of Sydney), Dr Jane Williams (University of Sydney), Associate Professor James Wood(University of New South Wales), and COSSI Chair Associate Professor Margie Danchin (Murdoch Children's Research Institute) 

The webinar will cover: 

•  What vaccination mandates are, who they may be used for and how they could be delivered
•  Governance and political aspects of vaccination mandates
•  Epidemiological, behavioural, and social considerations of mandates, including effectiveness
• Ethical considerations of vaccine mandates for adults

 Register for the webinar at: https://bit.ly/2VYZicZ