The Aussie workers who should be forced to get a Covid jab
Most Australians plan to get vaccinated against Covid-19 and many believe bosses should have the right to demand staff get jabbed.
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Health workers, teachers and aged care staff should be forced to have a Covid-19 jab, a national survey shows.
A new YouGov survey reveals that most Australians plan to get vaccinated against Covid-19 - with just 14 per cent refusing the jab.
It shows strong support for mandatory vaccination of frontline workers, with 81 per cent wanting compulsory shots for aged care workers and nurses, 73 per cent for school staff including teachers and 72 per cent for public transport workers.
Tradies should be forced to get the jab too, half the participants said in the exclusive poll of 3114 people for News Corp Australia.
Nearly 70 per cent felt vaccination should be compulsory for hospitality workers.
Most Australians want healthcare workers and school staff to head the queue for vaccination.
Only 18 per cent want schoolchildren to be prioritised, and just 8 per cent think political leaders should be given preference for Covid-19 jabs.
Nearly 70 per cent of Australians believe bosses should have the right to force staff to get vaccinated, with 45 per cent supporting compulsory jabs in all workplaces, and 24 per cent for frontline jobs serving the public.
Younger Australians are less likely to support mandatory workplace jabs.
Nearly two-thirds of retirees, who are considered to be at higher risk of catching Covid-19, want compulsory vaccination for all workers.
But only 44 per cent of full-time workers want vaccines made mandatory across the board.
The push for vaccines at work coincides with doctors’ demands that all health care workers – including cleaners, receptionists and contractors – be immunised urgently.
Australian Medical Association (AMA) president Dr Omar Khorshid said a worrying number of frontline health workers had caught Covid-19, with several clusters linked to hospitals.
“This is about health care worker safety and the safety of patients, and not about vaccines by force,’’ he said.
“Plans to reopen Australian will be a disaster unless our health sector is ready, and that will mean having a fully protected medical workforce.’’
Dr Khorshid said there was “widespread uncertainty’’ over the ability of bosses to mandate vaccines in other industries.
“The law needs clarity to give employers and employees certainty,’’ he said.
“SPC and Qantas have taken the lead mandating vaccines for their workforces, but we know it’s very complex and expensive for small employers to meet with the legalities required.’’
Dr Khorshid called on state and territory governments to issue public health orders to provide legal protection to any employer who can “reasonably establish workers safety would benefit from a workplace vaccine mandate’’.
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