Daniel Andrews marks the future of events in Melbourne with a vaccination rate of 80 percent

Victorian Prime Minister Daniel Andrews says vaccination status for Australians will be important in the future.

Victorian Prime Minister Daniel Andrews says the return of Australia’s “freedoms and feelings of normalcy” will be based on high vaccine intake.

Australia’s vaccine rollout continues to make major strides, with more than 18.9 million doses administered since February.

More than a third of eligible Australians are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, while 57.5 percent received a dose.

As Australia approaches the 70 and 80 percent benchmarks set by the Doherty Institute in the national roadmap for COVID-19, attention has drawn to some of the country’s key events.

Mr Andrews said discussions were ongoing over the possible hosting of the Melbourne Grand Prix in April next year, but noted that certain activities may be limited to fully vaccinated Australians.

The Prime Minister said that while high vaccination rates are not “absolute” it means the state can manage its health system

“All of our freedoms and a sense of normalcy are based on people getting through the vaccination program. So nobody should hesitate, they are safe, they work, they save lives and they allow us to open up, ”he said.

“I think that a restaurant or major event that is only attended by double vaccinated people is always a safer event and less of a contributing factor to people being hospitalized.

“The time is coming when your vaccination status matters.”

The National Cabinet has instructed Victoria, Tasmania and the Northern Territory to look into the possibility of giving the vaccinated population greater freedoms once the country reaches 70 percent.

Airlines around the world have already announced that their passengers will be fully vaccinated before boarding flights.

Mr Andrews said Australians should prepare not to travel if they are not vaccinated.

“Anyone who thinks they’re going to travel the world without a vaccination, your vaccination status will be a thing, you won’t get a visa unless you have double the dose,” he said.

“Whether people like it or it’s a terrible assault on civil liberties, people die when they get this, so there are limits.

“Decisions are made that in many ways are not your decisions, I mean that in the absolute literal sense. They are decisions that affect you, yes, they are made by you, but they affect so many others. “