‘Madness’: Aussies fume at vaccine mandate in Victoria

Irate Aussies have reacted with fury to the news that teachers will be forced to walk off the job for not being triple-jabbed.

Irate Aussies have reacted with fury to the news that teachers will be forced to walk off the job for not being triple-jabbed.

It was reportedyesterday that thousands of teachers, who are not triple vaccinated, will not legally be permitted to work in Victoria from Thursday, April 28 — putting immense pressure on an already struggling school system.

News.com.au understands that the real figure is much smaller — with about about 420 public school teachers across Victoria being stood down for failing to meet Covid vaccination requirements — with the majority of them not working because they haven’t received a third dose.

Department of Education spokesperson, said that as of April 26, 99.2% of the Victorian government teaching service have had three doses of a COVID vaccine and are permitted to attend work.

“We encourage any staff members who have not yet had their third dose to book in to protect themselves, their families and their school communities,” they said.

However, the move has not gone down well with many news.com.au readers who blasted the mandate as an overreach of power from the state government.

Almost 1000 readers commented on the story — with the vast majority of them expressing concern.

“But in South Australia right next door, teachers no longer need to be vaccinated at all anymore & can return back to work.....How that is not control????” asked one reader. “Where is the ‘science’ in this?”

“It’s an great injustice. And one day there will be a public apology for these stupid mandates. Too late though for those who lose their jobs, livelihoods and homes now,” declared another.

“These mandates are nothing more than a disgusting abuse of power and control. People should be allowed to choose for themselves what is best for their health and safety,” added a third. No one should ever be forced into medical choices, yet alone by threat of losing their employment if they don’t concede.”

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Victoria is about to be down thousands of teachers. Picture: Getty

One Nation senator Malcolm Roberts also joined the debate, calling the move “complete madness”.

“How is this best for our kids learning and future development? It doesn’t stop transmission!” he said.

This claim on transmission is disputed by the federal government which cites studies showing that both the Pfizer and AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccines are effective in preventing onward transmission to close contacts — reducing the spread by as much as 30 per cent.

Dr Jack Feehan, who specialises in immunology and regenerative medicine, and Vasso Apostolopoulos, a Professor of Immunology at Victoria University, also said that vaccines help to reduce the spread of the virus.

In a piece for The Conversation they wrote that studies only show a similar peak viral load, which is the highest amount of virus in the system over the course of the study.

However, what they don’t show is that vaccinated people clear the virus faster, with lower levels of virus overall, and have less time with very high levels of virus present.

Therefore, vaccinated people are, on average, likely to be less contagious.

However, there is no widespread consensus on vaccine mandates — with each state and territory in Australia carving their own path forward.

Commenting on Wimbledon’s recent decision to give unvaccinated players the all-clear, infectious diseases expert at UNSW Greg Dore said: “At this stage of pandemic Covid vaccine mandates don’t make much sense, particularly for elite athletes.”

What else does Victoria’ mandate entail?

Victoria’s mandate, which is mirrored only by the Northern Territory, affects all workers in educational services including childcare, early childhood, contractors, volunteers, and people providing healthcare to in education facilities.

As of December, 1300 public and 1300 private school teachers had yet to meet the vaccine requirement, a spokesperson Red Union – a representative of teachers – revealed during a court hearing for a teacher, the according to the Herald Sun.

The number however was not inclusive of teachers that resigned or executed short-term contracts since the Covid outbreak.

Workers who have not received their third jab will no longer have a job. Picture: Getty

“Although some were vaccinated over the holidays, the fact that there is now a requirement for three shots means more teachers are now not meeting the mandate,” the spokesperson said.

“There is no justification for these booster mandates in school settings … We’ve seen the worst of Omicron in this state and there continue to be ongoing staff shortages.”

He claimed there was “no evidence” a “third booster will make any difference”.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews confirmed on Friday the mandate would remain in place, despite other restrictions easing across the state.

The broader vaccine mandate ended across Victoria from 11.59pm Friday, meaning people were no longer required to be vaccinated to enter venues like restaurants, gyms, bars and cinemas.

The fact worker vaccination requirements remained in place has been a source of deep frustration among some sectors, including the transport industry.

Victorian Transport Association chief executive Peter Anderson told The Age the vaccine mandate should be removed for drivers, with two doses currently required for general freight and three for transporting food.

“We estimate around 10 per cent of drivers left the transport industry because of vaccination mandates, which is significant for an industry already facing driver shortages,” Mr Anderson said.

“This will also help to ease supply chain disruptions that have led to delivery delays and chronic shortages at supermarkets and other retail stores.”

Mr Andrews said any future changes to workers’ vaccine mandate would only be made when deemed appropriate by Health Minister Martin Foley.

Victorian Premier Dan Andrews confirmed the mandate on vaccinated workers would remain in place. Picture: Ian Currie

National Road Transport Association chief executive Warren Clark also said Victoria’s mandate “puts it out of step with other jurisdictions” and “may create difficulties for truck drivers operating across borders”.

When the issue was raised with Mr Andrews, he said he had not been made aware of that “specific concern” by those in the industry.

“I’m not here to debate the settings that have been made, they’re decisions that are made by the Minister (Mr Foley) under a framework delivered to us by the parliament of Victoria. That’s based on the best of advice,” he said.

“I must say I’ve seen those reports, yes. But I talk with many people in the transport industry, they have not raised that issue recently with me.”

Originally published as ‘Madness’: Aussies fume at vaccine mandate in Victoria