I welcome today’s constructive round table discussion between the Federal Government, businesses and industry groups. The more we can work together, the more likely we are to find a way to speed up the vaccination of the Australian population, which should be our joint goal.
Big employers have the ability to stand up vaccination programs very quickly and would welcome the opportunity to be able to vaccinate as much of their workforce as quickly as possible. Having large employers run vaccination programs would take pressure off government, get a large number of people vaccinated in a short period of time, and bring private sector efficiencies and capabilities into the equation.
What is also needed is a public education campaign, fuelled with information from around the world, to help people understand the safety and efficacy of each of the vaccine choices. There are some great examples of innovative public education campaigns in places like France, New Zealand and Singapore.
There is too much misinformation and misguided fear around vaccination and it is time to fix that. People need to understand that the only way to protect themselves and their loved ones is to get vaccinated as soon as possible. Virgin Australia would be happy to support an education campaign which helps to explain the merits, the safety, and the importance of vaccination and helps the Australian community to make a properly informed choice.
