With latest figures showing 24% of residential aged workers remain unvaccinated, aged care peaks Leading Age Services Australia (LASA) and Aged & Community Services Australia (ACSA) have swung into action before the 17 September deadline.
The two bodies have begun a Staff Vaccination Support Service (SVSS) to help aged care providers get their staff to meet the vaccination first dose deadline of 17 September, including a social media campaign #ProudToProtect.
“The Service will engage with providers at the state and territory level to identify barriers to vaccine uptake and help them get access to vaccinations for staff as quickly as possible,” said LASA General Manager Policy and Advocacy Tim Hicks.
The Victorian Department of Health has notified providers they need to ensure workers are vaccinated by 16 September. Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, the Northern Territory Tasmania and the ACT has issued public health orders that all aged care workers must have at last one dose of COVID-19 vaccine by 17 September.
Health Services Union National President, Gerard Hayes said there was already a workforce “crisis” that would be compounded if unvaccinated workers were forced out of the sector.
“Give people a reason to leave and they will. We will have people sitting in incontinence pads with nobody to change them, we will have people existing and not living, we will have people with no dignity at all,” he said.
The latest figures provided by operators to the Commonwealth Department of Health Department show that the surge in vaccinations for aged care workers continues.
274,181 residential aged care workers reported by providers nationally as at 25 August, and 208,701 (76%) have received a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Of these, 147,752 (54%) are reported as having received two doses.
- In New South Wales, of 83,011 workers reported by providers, 65,367 have received a first dose (79%), of whom 48,228 have received two doses (58%).
- In Victoria, of 75,294 workers reported by providers, 60,616 have received a first dose (81%), of whom 48,881 have received two doses (6 %).
- In Queensland, of 51,472 workers reported by providers, 36,636 have received a first dose (71%), of whom 23,628 have received two doses (46%).
- In South Australia, of 27,785 workers reported by providers, 20,711 have received a first dose (75%), of whom 14,482 have received two doses (52%).
- In Western Australia, of 24,652 workers reported by providers, 16,855 have received a first dose (68 %), of whom 10,571 have received two doses (43%).
- In Tasmania, of 7,958 workers reported by providers, 5,202 have received a first dose (65%), of whom 3,849 have received two doses (48%).
- In the ACT, of 3,089 workers reported by providers, 2,533 have received a first dose (82%), of whom 1,458 have received two doses (47%).
- In the Northern Territory, of 920 workers reported by providers, 781 have received a first dose (85%), of whom 655 have received two doses (71%).
