Push for mandatory booster shots in NSW after third dose plans rolled back

There are calls for a third Covid-19 dose to be made mandatory for certain workers, as the government backtracks on its booster shot plans.

Labor is calling for Covid-19 booster shots to be made mandatory for certain NSW workers, as the state government backtracks on its third dose vaccine plans.

NSW Opposition Leader Chris Minns revealed on Thursday he is pushing for the government to require essential workers to have three doses of a Covid-19 vaccine.

“We’re going to call on the government to mandate the essential workers who are required to get two doses of the vaccine, to get three doses,” he told 2GB’s Ray Hadley.

Mr Minns branded the change “very important” and said it was an “essential next step” in keeping NSW residents safe.

“It rapidly reduces your ability to transmit the disease to other people and protects you from going to hospital and ICU units,” he said.

Leader of the Opposition Chris Minns is pushing for booster shots to be mandatory for essential workers. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Damian Shaw

NSW is lagging behind other states and territories in its booster shot uptake, with just over 43 per cent of eligible residents having received their third dose.

Nationally, the booster rate is above 51 per cent, with Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia all exceeding this rate.

Even Victoria has almost reached a 50 per cent booster rate, despite also dealing with an influx of Omicron cases.

Mr Minns said NSW’s slow uptake was partly due to confused messaging around when people should get their booster shot.

He said there needs to be a single piece of agreed upon advice from Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) and the country’s chief health officers on when you can get your booster shot after contracting Covid-19.

“You’ve got ATAGI saying it is still four months after you contract Covid but the chief health officers are saying, almost on a daily basis, it is four to six weeks. We need clarity on that,” he said.

“People in NSW want to get this. It’s about communication, having leave to go out and get that dose and also making sure that there’s a single piece of information that’s been given to the public from the chief health officer and from the federal government.”

On Thursday, Catholic Health Australia called for the federal government to change the definition of fully vaccinated, claiming its current definition of two doses was leading to complacency.

“It’s just misleading for states to be reporting a ‘fully vaccinated’ rate of 95 per cent-plus when that refers to double dosing which we know is inadequate,” CHA’s manager of health policy, Alex Lynch, said.

“Health authorities are struggling to convince Australians to go out and get their booster and part of this is surely because people feel complacent when they see such impressive headline figures.

“A huge contributor to the speed of vaccination last year was people feeling responsibility for getting low rates to climb. We need to put that impetus on society once again.

“We now know that Covid-19 vaccinations are losing effectiveness just months after the second dose is received. A truly fully vaccinated community, with three doses for all who are eligible, will help alleviate pressure on our hospitals and start getting us back to normal.”

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet addresses the media. Picture: NCA NewsWire /Gaye Gerard

Last month, NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet said essential workers will need to have three doses of a Covid-19 vaccine to be considered “fully vaccinated”

Health Minister Brad Hazzard also said “anybody for whom vaccination was mandatory already will now have boosters mandated”.

However, it appears the NSW government is now backtracking on its mandatory booster stance, with Mr Hazzard telling The Guardian that the government will no longer be going ahead with the change.

“Certainly in early January, when the numbers were increasing dramatically off the back of Omicron and before the number of furloughed workers started dropping, as health minister I was certainly serious about moving towards a mandate position for the third dose,” he told the publication.

Mr Hazzard said the decision was rolled back after speaking with the Health Services Union and the Nurses and Midwives’ Association.

“They made it clear that health workers are, as we all know, quite exhausted and tired from two years of intense frontline work,” he said.

Despite this, it is looking increasingly likely that the definition of fully vaccinated will soon change.

Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt told Sky News on Thursday that he expects “it’s more likely than not” that only people who have had three doses of a Covid vaccine will soon be considered fully vaccinated.

He said that decision remains with ATAGI.

“That is with ATAGI, I think it’s more likely than not that that will be the case, that’s my expectation,” Mr Hunt said.

“But what it doesn’t change is the fact we’ve been encouraging people to take up that booster and there’s more than enough vaccinations and vaccines for every Australian.”

Originally published as Push for mandatory booster shots in NSW after third dose plans rolled back