Australia’s technical advisory body to the federal health minister has distanced itself from the use of vaccine mandates—a measure which has been criticised by the World Health Organization (WHO), arguing that it should be an “absolute last resort.” The head of the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI), Dr. Chris Blyth, was asked on Dec. 8 why the country’s state and territory governments were handing down vaccine mandates for businesses when 80 to 90 percent of the population was already vaccinated. His response was, “I don’t think that’s ATAGI’s role to answer that question.” “We provide technical advice, and we believe in the benefits and safety of vaccinations but how they are implemented and rolled out is absolutely up to the state’s public health orders,” he told the Senate Committee on Education and Employment. “ATAGI has not provided a recommendation for mandates at any time point.” ATAGI’s comments come …