Virus mutations mean that border restrictions are here to stay and inequities between nations are likely to emerge.
You are browsing in private mode. To enjoy all the benefits of our website LOG IN or Create an Account The biggest worry for many countries now vaccinating their populations against Covid-19 is the possibility of new, vaccine-resistant strains of coronavirus emerging as the virus spreads. These fears crystallised this month after a study found that AstraZeneca’s jab was just 22 per cent effective in preventing mild to moderate disease caused by the South African variant. AstraZeneca says it expects an updated version of its vaccine to be ready by the autumn, and most epidemiologists believe that it should be straightforward to edit vaccines to counter new mutations. But the nightmare scenario of a vaccine-resistant strain remains in policymakers’ minds. Such an event would not quite bring the Covid response back to square one, as governments have a much better understanding of how to prevent the spread of the virus than they did at the start of the outbreak. Awareness of how to treat those whom the disease makes seriously ill has also advanced since the pandemic began. Nonetheless, it would mean many societies remaining in limbo for much longer than hoped. The solution that virtually all governments have come up with is to impose various types of restrictions at their borders. These range from requiring new arrivals to show a recent negative PCR test, to forcing travellers to quarantine in hotels at their own expense, as the UK has introduced for those arriving from countries deemed high-risk. Some countries have even limited travel within their borders, with certain Australian states requiring arrivals from other states to quarantine on arrival.
