I'm not sure whether this is the correct location for this, but I wasn't able to work out where is, so here we go.
The ABC has reported this:
Mixed Vaccine Travellers Unable to Access SG FEPO Flights to Australia. It says:
"When the Australian government announced international borders would reopen, Ms Nilsen checked the Services Australia website and with the Australian embassy in Vietnam about vaccine certification.
The embassy told her that having two different vaccines was acceptable as long as they were approved varieties like AstraZeneca or Pfizer.
So she booked tickets to visit her and Mr Nilsen's parents in rural New South Wales, who they have not seen for almost two years.
...
But on Friday, she received an update from the embassy that said the rules were changing constantly and people who had mixed shots would be considered "not vaccinated".
...
A day later, Singapore Airlines advised Ms Nilsen that the the flight had been designated as "For Eligible Passengers Only" (FEPO) and that mixed vaccines would not be recognised.
Singapore Airlines, Scoot and Vietnam Airlines all have statements on their websites that customers with mixed vaccine doses are not eligible at this stage."
The SG website (
SG Entry into Australia) says:
"Singapore Airlines will begin flying quarantine-free For Eligible Passengers Only (FEPO) flights from Singapore to Sydney and from Singapore to Melbourne starting 1 November 2021.
To board this flight, all passengers must meet the following requirements:
- You are an Australian citizen or permanent resident.
- If you are a foreign national (including immediate family members of Australian citizens and permanent residents), you must hold a valid visa and a travel restriction exemption.
- Being fully vaccinated with a TGA approved or recognised vaccine, such as Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Janssen-Cilag, Moderna, Coronavac, or Covishield, at least 7 days prior to arrival in Australia. Children under the age of 12 and those who cannot be vaccinated due to a medical condition are exempted from this requirement.
- Presenting a valid vaccination certificate in English, i.e. either the Australian Government issued International Covid-19 Vaccination Certificate (ICVC) or a paper or digital vaccination certification issued by a national or state/provincial level authority or accredited vaccination provider.
- Presenting a negative result for a PCR test taken within 72 hours before flight departure.
- Completing the Australia Travel Declaration at least 72 hours before flight departure.
- Further requirements may apply. Please check the latest requirements to confirm your eligibility before booking. "
The Scoot website (
Carriage of Passengers Into and Out of Australia) says (bold emphasis added):
"Eligibility to travel into Australia is determined by the Australian Government and customers must at least meet the following criteria:
- Be an Australian Citizen or Permanent Resident or
- A foreign national to Australia (including immediate family members of Australian citizens and permanent residents), holding a valid visa and travel restriction exemption
Customers must also:
- Be fully vaccinated with an Australian Therapeutic Good Administration (TGA) approved or recognised vaccine, at least seven days prior to arrival in Australia. Those vaccinated with mixed vaccine doses are not eligible.
- Hold a valid vaccination certificate issued in English i.e. either the Australian Government issued International Covid-19 Vaccination Certificate (ICVC) or a paper or digital vaccination certification issued by a national or state-level public health authority, or an accredited vaccination provider.
- Produce evidence of a negative Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test taken within 72 hours of departure of the first flight to Australia.
- Complete the Australia Travel Declaration (ATD) at least 72 hours before departure."
As I hitherto understood matters, mixed (heterologous) vaccination with 2 doses of TGA approved or recognised vaccines is being treated as full vaccination. I was heterologously vaccinated in Canada, and following my AIR record being updated, now have an Australian Government COVID-19 Digital Certificate which says "the individual has received all required COVID-19 vaccinations" with a big tick in a green box, and an International COVID-19 Vaccination Certificate issued by Australia.
However, Australian government webpages such as
Travel for vaccinated Australians and permanent residents | COVID-19 and the border are maddeningly vague. There is no direct and unambiguous statement on that page which says heterologous vaccination is permitted (or not permitted) for entry into Australia purposes.
The only direct statement I can find which says mixed vaccination is not recognised for entry purposes is on
COVID-19 vaccinations, which says "You won’t be considered fully vaccinated if you received different vaccine types for your first and second dose of a 2 dose course." That page provides links to other Australian government websites which do not directly and unambiguously address the matter, so it is not clear to me how the author of the smartravller page is able to make that assertion.
The supposedly authoritative TGA advice on vaccine recognition (
COVID-19 vaccines not registered in Australia but in current international use - TGA advice on "recognition") does not directly and unambiguously state whether or not heterologous vaccination is "recognised". It just says:
"There is no published direct evidence on the clinical efficacy against infection or hospitalisation for mixed dosing schedules using combinations of COVID-19 vaccines. There is, however, a rapidly developing body of studies examining antibody and neutralising antibody markers of immunity in a variety of combinations for Comirnaty, Spikevax and Vaxzevria. In general, mixed vaccine schedules with these vaccines produce equivalent or better levels antibody responses than same-vaccine schedules, but the duration and clinical significance of these responses has not been determined (Appendix 2.1)."
(As an aside, this is already out of date as British Columbia has published direct evidence on clinical efficacy of mixed dosing schedules:
Skowronski DM, Setayeshgar S, Zou M et al. Two-dose vaccine effectiveness against SARS-CoV-2 infection and hospitalization, including Delta variant: a test-negative design, as has Quebec:
Efficacité de deux doses de vaccin contre la COVID-19 chez les adultes québécois vivant dans la communauté | INSPQ).
Does anyone else have any information / data points to share on this?
@drron, have you seen anything which confirms things one way or the other? Will inbound Australian citizens and permanent residents be able to rely on heterologous vaccination using TGA-approved or recognised vaccines to be eligible for quarantine-exempt entry into Australia?