Australia To Provide Vaccine To Students

The government of Australia has confirmed that all visa holders, including international students, will be given Covid-19 vaccines for free as part of the country’s vaccination rollout programme.
The Department of Health said in a statement that the government is committed to providing “safe and effective vaccines free to everyone in Australia”.

Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, said in a press conference, “On the advice of the medical experts, the Government has determined that we will offer vaccines to all people living in Australia to achieve the maximum level of coverage. That means the Government will provide Covid-19 vaccinations free to all visa holders in Australia. And this will include refugees, asylum seekers, temporary protection visa holders, and those on bridging visas.”

The vaccination programme is due to begin later this month for the highest priority group. The Department of Health said that Australia will have access to more than 150 million doses vaccine doses through various contracts.

Health Minister Greg Hunt said, “I encourage people to get vaccinated when their turn comes – every vaccination helps us defeat the virus.” Click here for more information on the vaccine programme.

Although Australia’s borders have been closed to international students since March 2020, there were still 384,999 international students in the country in mid-November, according to data released by the Department of Education.

As recently reported, Australia’s international education sector has been lobbying the government to provide an ‘indicative date’ of when existing international students will be allowed to return to the country.