コロナワクチン接種、国民に義務化すべきだ　豪首相が主張

【シドニーＡＦＰ＝時事】オーストラリアのスコット・モリソン首相は19日、医療的な例外を除いて、国民に新型コロナウイルスのワクチン接種を義務付けるべきだと主張した。（写真は豪メルボルンで、マスクの着用を推奨する看板の前を歩く男性）
　オーストラリアは、英製薬大手アストラゼネカと英オックスフォード大学が共同開発するワクチン候補を国内製造することで合意した。その後モリソン首相はメルボルンのラジオ局３ＡＷに対し、ワクチン接種を「可能な限り義務付ける」べきだと述べた。
　反ワクチン活動家からの反発や激しい倫理的論争になることを予想して、モリソン首相は、この感染症が抑制されないままにしておくことの犠牲が大きすぎると説明。一方で、政府はまだ決定に至っていないと強調した。
　豪政府は、人口の最大９５％が新型コロナウイルスに対して免疫を持つ必要があるとみている。
　モリソン首相は、全国民が無料でワクチンを接種できると発表した上で、「わが国を正常に戻すためには、最も徹底的で包括的な対応が必要だ」と述べた。
　同国にはすでに、ポリオや破傷風などの予防接種を受けていない子どもを幼稚園や学校に通わせることができないという決まりがある。
　新型コロナウイルスの流行により、人口約２５００万人の同国ではこれまでに４００人以上が死亡している。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2020/08/21-13:14）

Australia should make any coronavirus vaccine compulsory for its 25 million citizens bar medical exemptions, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Wednesday, wading into a heated ethical debate.
After reaching a deal for the country to manufacture a promising vaccine being developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University, Morrison said getting the jab should be as mandatory as you can possibly make it.
There are always exemptions for any vaccine on medical grounds, but that should be the only basis, he told radio station 3AW in Melbourne.
Anticipating a backlash from vocal anti-vaccine activists, Morrison said the stakes were too high to allow the disease to continue unchecked.
We're talking about a pandemic that has destroyed the global economy and taken the lives of hundreds of thousands all around the world, he said, while stressing the government has not yet made a decision.
The Australian government estimates that up to 95 percent of the population would need to be immune to the virus for it to be irradicated.
We need the most extensive and comprehensive response to this to get Australia back to normal, Morrison said, after announcing the vaccine would be free to all Australians.
The country already has no jab, no play rules that mean kids have to receive vaccines for diseases including polio and tetanus to enrol in kindergarten or school.
But debate still rages about whether those rules impinge on personal freedoms, and hardline anti-vaxers flood online forums with conspiracy theories and misinformation about the risks.
The coronavirus pandemic -- which has killed more than 400 Australians -- has coincided with a sharp uptick in online misinformation, speculation and opposition to vaccines -- something experts have dubbed an infodemic.
No effective vaccine for coronavirus has yet been released, although Morrison said he was optimistic one could be developed by early next year, with manufacturing taking just a few months more.
As soon as we get the recipe we'll be making it, he said.