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Nursing homes told to get workers jabbed by September 17 or they can’t work

Around 100,000 nursing home workers are still to be vaccinated, more than one in three, despite a looming deadline of September 17.

Health Minister Greg Hunt. Picture: Gary Ramage
Health Minister Greg Hunt. Picture: Gary Ramage

The Morrison government has written to every nursing home ­operator in Australia warning that it will not extend the September 17 deadline for all staff to be vaccinated, despite about 100,000 workers not yet having had a jab.

From Monday, it will begin publishing staff and resident vaccination rates in individual nursing homes in a bid to accelerate inoculations in the sector.

Health Minister Greg Hunt and Aged Care Services Minister Richard Colbeck wrote to providers on Wednesday advising them that nursing homes would be held to the cut-off date, after which unvaccinated staff would not be permitted to work.

“As of 17 August, 2021, My Aged Care data indicates that over 63 per cent of workers have received a first dose and over 43 per cent are fully vaccinated,’’ Mr Hunt and Senator Colbeck wrote.

“While these levels indicate a strong commitment from residential aged-care workers to be vaccinated ... there remains a significant proportion of this essential workforce yet to be vaccinated ahead of (the deadline),” the letter reads.

“I expect exemptions to the mandatory requirement to be limited. As such, it is critical the vaccination rates of aged-care workers continues to increase, and that this happens as a priority.”

National cabinet agreed on June 28 that all aged-care workers in nursing homes must have at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccination by September 17 as a condition of work, given the extreme vulnerability to the virus of those in their care. With less than a month to go, the trajectory of vaccinations among the 278,000 carers and other staff in the sector falls significantly below that required to meet the deadline.

This has put the federal government, which committed in February to fully vaccinating its residential aged-care workforce as a priority by April, and vaccination taskforce leader Lieutenant General John Frewen under significant pressure.

The letter notes vaccination rates for both residents and staff at their homes will soon be accessible by the public. And it lists methods by which nursing home operators can ensure workers can be vaccinated, including on-site vaccination clinics on request, priority appointments with GPs, pharmacies and commonwealth vaccination hubs, and reimbursement of pay if a worker has to take time off to receive the jab.

Mr Hunt said the letter “is a further reminder of the importance of facilities to have a plan to vaccinate their workers to meet the September 17 requirement”.

Senator Colbeck said while the government was “aware of the challenges associated with the decision to make the vaccination of aged-care staff mandatory, we are determined to meet the deadline”.

The risk of Covid-19 reaching into residential aged-care facilities has been a focus for state and federal governments since last year’s outbreak tore through a number of nursing homes mainly in Victoria, leaving 681 residents dead.

Aged-care providers and the unions representing workers say they have been calling on the federal government to support a faster rollout of vaccinations to care workers for months, and feel like they are being blamed when there has been a shortage of vaccine and uncertainty about eligibility.

The states will be responsible for implementing national cabinet’s decision, but Western Australia, South Australia, Queens­land and Tasmania signed the relevant public health orders only in the past week, and Victoria and NSW are still to do so.

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Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/nursing-homes-told-to-get-workers-jabbed-by-september-17-or-they-cant-work/news-story/17a4e40d92bace423bf1088b5b9c8c0e