4 ms·

It's not testing positive per se that is the exemption, it's if you have a medical contraindication to the vaccine. The argument is that recent infection is a m

It's not testing positive per se that is the exemption, it's if you have a medical contraindication to the vaccine. The argument is that recent infection is a medical contraindication, which the tournament organizer accepted but the feds have not.

alkonaut 5y ago
I mean the sensible position would be that a contraindication (allergy against vaccine) and recent infection should be the alternative to vaccination. And obviously an athlete would need to fulfill the requirement of both entry to to country and to the tournament.
- hugh-avherald 5y ago
  That doesn't make much sense to me: it seems to require a person who has an allergy to the vaccine to also get infected. At any rate, the sensible course of action would have been to allow only permanent, approved medical contraindications to be grounds for exemption. Temporary contraindications (like recent vaccination/infection) would simply invoke an apology and a wish they get better soon.
  - alkonaut 5y ago
    Fair point. But even so I’m concerned that even trusting “note from random doctor” is far too relaxed. Requiring a medical exemption issued in Australia or by a doctor approved by Australian authorites seems much more secure.
  - brokenmachine 5y ago
    That's what it is. Look at it yourself. Previous infection is only a 6-month temporary deferral in the case of major acute medical illness. https://www.health.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/2021/11/atagi-expanded-guidance-on-temporary-medical-exemptions-for-covid-19-vaccines.pdf https://www.health.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/2021... https://www1.racgp.org.au/newsgp/clinical/who-is-actually-eligible-for-a-covid-19-vaccine-ex https://www1.racgp.org.au/newsgp/clinical/who-is-actually-el... These are the ATAGI guidelines though, the border can do what they want and they do not recognize previous infection as an exemption, apparently except in very special cases where the person is a millionaire with a world-class backhand. It'd be really interesting to know why he was given an exemption even while he hadn't tested positive in the past 6 months.
    - hugh-avherald 5y ago
      Note that the first link is published by a Commonwealth Government entity and the second is not the government. His exemption was granted by Tennis Australia, not the Commonwealth.

alkonaut 5y ago

I mean the sensible position would be that a contraindication (allergy against vaccine) and recent infection should be the alternative to vaccination. And obviously an athlete would need to fulfill the requirement of both entry to to country and to the tournament.

hugh-avherald 5y ago
That doesn't make much sense to me: it seems to require a person who has an allergy to the vaccine to also get infected. At any rate, the sensible course of action would have been to allow only permanent, approved medical contraindications to be grounds for exemption. Temporary contraindications (like recent vaccination/infection) would simply invoke an apology and a wish they get better soon.
- alkonaut 5y ago
  Fair point. But even so I’m concerned that even trusting “note from random doctor” is far too relaxed. Requiring a medical exemption issued in Australia or by a doctor approved by Australian authorites seems much more secure.
- brokenmachine 5y ago
  That's what it is. Look at it yourself. Previous infection is only a 6-month temporary deferral in the case of major acute medical illness. https://www.health.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/2021/11/atagi-expanded-guidance-on-temporary-medical-exemptions-for-covid-19-vaccines.pdf https://www.health.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/2021... https://www1.racgp.org.au/newsgp/clinical/who-is-actually-eligible-for-a-covid-19-vaccine-ex https://www1.racgp.org.au/newsgp/clinical/who-is-actually-el... These are the ATAGI guidelines though, the border can do what they want and they do not recognize previous infection as an exemption, apparently except in very special cases where the person is a millionaire with a world-class backhand. It'd be really interesting to know why he was given an exemption even while he hadn't tested positive in the past 6 months.
  - hugh-avherald 5y ago
    Note that the first link is published by a Commonwealth Government entity and the second is not the government. His exemption was granted by Tennis Australia, not the Commonwealth.