COVID-19 does not warrant compulsory vaccinations but it definitely does warrant a “very high uptake,” according to infectious diseases paediatrician Professor Robert Booy.

Coronavirus vaccines are being rolled out across the UK and the USA prompting questions about whether it should be compulsory when a vaccine is made available in Australia.

Frontline workers as well as Australia’s most vulnerable are set to be able to receive a COVID-19 jab by March, but the government plans to roll it out for the rest of the nation in October.

Professor Booy said he doesn’t believe a vaccine for the coronavirus should be mandatory, but the virus does mandate a high uptake.

“Even if you’re a young person there’s a risk of you getting severe disease and even greater risk of you passing it to an older person and resulting in really severe disease,” he told Sky News host Cory Bernardi.

Pharmaceutical companies and universities across the globe have been working on a vaccine for COVID-19 throughout 2020, but there is community concern over how quick some of these vaccines have been developed.

“I believe in being confident as we’ve never before had so many intelligent scientists working with such good technology,” he said.

“It’s as though we’ve been able to easily telescope five years into one. It’s not as if we’ve rushed anything, we’re still testing tens of thousands of people with any particular vaccine to show that it’s safe and it’s effective.

“Because of that, we can have confidence in whichever vaccine is being chosen and rolled out.”