Just one in four aged care workers are fully vaccinated with Australian workforce statistics released this week. Only 43 per cent of aged care workers have received their first dose eight weeks out from the enforcement of a government mandate requiring them to be inoculated.
“It will be mandatory for residential aged care workers only to have received a minimum first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine from 17 September, 2021,” a Department of Health spokesperson told Neos Kosmos.
“This was a decision of national cabinet based on the advice of the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC).
“The Therapeutic Goods Administration has authorised the advertising of approved COVID-19 vaccines within certain conditions. The permission allows the advertising of approved COVID-19 vaccines with the offer of ‘valuable consideration’, ie. incentives, to people who have been fully vaccinated for COVID-19, although the offer of tobacco or medicines (other than listed medicines) as an incentive is prohibited.”
The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation said greater Pfizer supplies and improved distribution channels to workers in their workplaces would boost the numbers in the coming weeks.
“Supply has always been an underpinning issue here, but they did react pretty strongly to our clear concern about blaming workers,” said the union’s federal secretary, Annie Butler.
Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison finally said “sorry” for Australia’s slow vaccine rollout on Thursday while meeting with reporters in Canberra.
“I’m certainly sorry we haven’t been able to achieve the marks that we hoped for at the beginning of this year,” he said, when announcing that pharmacies, backed by a commonwealth indemnity, would be able to administer AstraZeneca vaccinations from August.