JABLESS WILL BE JOBLESS
MANDATORY VAX FOR ALL HEALTH WORKERS
A NO jab, no job policy will soon be in place for all Tasmanian healthcare workers.
All employees, whether they work in public hospitals or private clinics, must get their Covid vaccinations by October 31 or else find alternative work arrangements.
The mandatory vaccine rules will not apply to those with exemption certificates or those who have already booked but are waiting for their appointment.
The policy remains light on detail, however a public health direction will be issued in the coming week that will go into more depth on the particulars.
A NO jab, no job policy will soon be in place for all healthcare workers, the Tasmanian government announced on Friday.
All employees, whether they work in public hospitals or private clinics, must get their Covid vaccinations by October 31 or else find alternative work arrangements.
The mandatory vaccine rules will not apply to those with exemption certificates or workers who have already booked but are waiting for their appointment.
The policy remains light on detail, but a public health direction will be issued next week that will be more indepth on the particulars.
Health Minister Jeremy Rockliff (pictured) said it was a necessary step, given the rapidly worsening situation across the country.
“People are dying. We’ve had 13 deaths in Tasmania and we don’t want anyone else to die from Covid-19. That’s why we’re making the calls we’re making,” Mr Rockliff said.
“We do not want to see what is happening in NSW and other states. Daily we see thousands of cases, and we shouldn’t be desensitised to that.”
State health commander Kathrine MorganWicks said 80 per cent of public healthcare workers were already vaccinated, but officials wouldn’t rest until it was 100 per cent.
“Given the imminent threat of Delta to Tasmania, it is critical that we vaccinate the remainder of this workforce to protect the health and safety of all persons working in healthcare settings in Tasmania and to protect the vulnerable patient cohort in their care,” Ms Morgan-Wicks said.
“We will work to ensure all unvaccinated healthcare workers will have access to the Pfizer vaccine with workplace clinics.”
Within the broader community, she said, the vaccine rollout was going exceedingly well with 450,000 arms jabbed since February.
As the state comes to the end of week three in the “super six-week” vaccination blitz, more than 60 per cent of eligible Tasmanians have received their first dose as vaccinations open up to 12-15year-olds later this month.
Following a super clinic in Hobart and scheduled super clinics in Launceston and Burnie, youth super clinics will be set up across the state in October in an attempt to protect the younger generation. From September 13 all GPs participating in the vaccination rollout will have access to Pfizer.
However, director of Public Health Mark Veitch said Tasmanians must not fall into complacency given the rapidly growing caseloads on the mainland.
Dr Veitch said it was not a matter of if, but when, coronavirus would return to Tasmania’s shores.
“The threat to Tasmania, despite our robust prevention of people with Covid coming into Tasmania, the risk is almost certainly increasing,” he said.
“I would hope that when coronavirus does come to Tasmania it is later rather than sooner, but we can’t always choose the timing of these things so we really have to be prepared now.”