Covid-19 Qld: New rules for unvaccinated student clinicians

Students who have not been vaccinated for Covid-19 will be barred from attending clinical placements at hospitals, aged care facilities and disability accommodation services.

Students who have not been vaccinated for Covid-19 will be barred from attending clinical placements at hospitals, aged care facilities and disability accommodation services while restrictions are in place.

Queensland Health has revealed the move was made to further protect vulnerable Queenslanders, and follows recent locally acquired cases that had spent considerable time in the community.

The new rule kicked in from 8 o’clock last night, after Queensland Health met with TAFE Queensland and pro vice-chancellors from the universities on Tuesday to discuss the changes.

Under the changes, students on a clinical placement must be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 before they are allowed to enter a “restricted vulnerable facility”, such as a hospital or residential aged care.

“This latest measure is an additional step to protect our most vulnerable. It only applies while facilities are restricted,” a Queensland Health spokeswoman said.

“At this time, restrictions apply to vulnerable facilities until 6pm 16 July 2021 in 13 local government areas across the state, which includes areas of southeast Queensland and Townsville.

“Students undertaking clinical placements have been eligible to receive a vaccination under the Phase 1b priority group since late March.

“And Queensland Health has previously sent communications alerting universities, TAFEs and students of this eligibility and encouraging students to get vaccinated.”

A masked man walks outside a Brisbane Covid-19 vaccine and testing clinic this week. Picture: Dan Peled/NCA NewsWire

Queensland recorded one new locally acquired case on Thursday, but they were a close contact of two previously announced cases and had been in home quarantine for their entire infectious period.

In a letter sent to education providers on July 5, Chief Health Officer Dr Young said students should have come forward over the last six weeks given they fell under phase 1b of the vaccine rollout.

“As you may be aware, in New South Wales an unvaccinated student nurse, who was positive for Covid-19, worked at both the Fairfield and Royal North Shore hospitals while infectious,” she wrote.

“This is obviously a troubling development and highlights why we must take the necessary mitigations to prevent transmission into our vulnerable facilities.”

A health source said the latest directive showed inequity in policy – being that unvaccinated health staff could still work while students could not.

Queensland Nurses and Midwives’ Union secretary Beth Mohle said there would be implications that would need to be worked through such as how it affected placements.

But she said this was the nature of the pandemic, and that the union would be guided by what the Chief Health Officer decided.

“We have to be agile and responsive and adjust accordingly,” she said.

Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said further consideration and consultation was required before a decision could be made on whether to make it a requirement for all hospital staff to get the Covid jab if their workplace is part of the Covid-19 hospital network.

“However we continue to offer every health worker in all our hospitals the Pfizer vaccine and strongly encourage them to take this option up,” Ms D’Ath said.