More than 80,000 Chinese international students are set to be allowed back into Australia when international borders reopen after the country’s top drug regulator recommended approving the Sinovac vaccine for travellers.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the decision by the Therapeutic Goods Administration was a “major milestone” that would allow authorities to determine international travellers as being appropriately vaccinated. He said it did not mean that the vaccine would be approved for local immunisations.
“Declaring certain COVID-19 vaccines as ‘recognised vaccines’ is separate to a regulatory decision on whether they are approved for use for vaccination in Australia, which has not been made by the TGA,” he said.
A health worker prepares a dose of the Sinovac’s COVID-19 vaccine. Credit:AP
The move brings Australia into line with the United States - one of its largest competitors in the international student market - and ahead of the United Kingdom in approving the Chinese-made vaccine for travellers but not locals. China has not approved any internationally made vaccines, including Pfizer or AstraZenca, for residents or travellers. The TGA has yet to recommend approving China’s other major vaccine, Sinopharm.
Sinovac has a lower efficacy rate of 51 per cent against symptomatic coronavirus infection but has recorded 100 per cent efficacy against severe COVID-19 and 100 per cent against hospitalisation, according to Brazilian phase three data published by the World Health Organisation. Pfizer has a 91 per cent efficacy against symptomatic COVID-19.
The TGA on Friday also recommended the approval of the Covidshield Astra Zeneca vaccine produced by the Serum Institute of India. There are 17,000 Indian international students also waiting to return or take up their studies in Australia, along with more than 9000 Australian permanent residents.
The decision to approve Sinovac also has significant implications for travellers from south-east Asia, where it is the primary vaccine available, along with South America, where Chinese vaccine diplomacy has seen hundreds of millions of doses delivered across the continent.
Mr Morrison said on Friday that Australia’s international border was expected to open from November on a state-by-state basis as they reach the 80 per cent vaccination threshold.
“The recognition of these two additional vaccines is a major milestone towards more Australians vaccinated overseas getting home sooner,” said Mr Morrison.
Universities Australia chief executive Catriona Jackson said the move by the TGA was “vitally important” for Australian universities.
“This is enormously welcome news which means valued international students can return safely and promptly. It also means a very important first step in reviving international education which of course contributes more than $31 billion to the Australian economy,” she said.
“This is fundamentally important for businesses, universities and Australian citizens broadly as well as those seeking to enter Australia. Sensible health-based rules are really important as we negotiate a robust recovery.”
Ms Jackson said international students brought incredible culture and economic wealth into Australia and supported 260,000 jobs across the education sector.
But despite the newfound optimism, significant challenges to the international student market still remain.
Chinese students are by far the largest international cohort at Australia’s universities. Of the almost 190,000 enrolled at Australian universities, 56 per cent were offshore during the Lunar New Year holidays when Australia closed its borders in the first months of the pandemic in 2020.
Education agents in Beijing warned last year that they would no longer recommend studying in Australia after multiple diplomatic and trade disputes between China and the Morrison government over human rights and national security concerns. China’s Ambassador to Australia Cheng Jingye said that consumers could boycott Australian products, including universities before Beijing launched trade strikes on $20 billion worth of Australian exports across half-a-dozen sectors.
Bella, a Chinese international student who wanted to be known only by her first name, said many students stuck in China were frustrated by the delays in getting back to their studies in Australia. She said that current students wanted to finish their subjects.
“But I don’t know about new students, maybe they will choose another country.”
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2021-10-01 04:32:25Z
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