98.3% of aged care workers have received one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, with 79.8% having two jabs as the Commonwealth Health Department monitoring of compliance began yesterday.
With just 40% of aged care staff having one dose in July, Health and Aged Care Minister Greg Hunt and Senior Australians and Aged Care Services Minister Richard Colbeck expressed their thanks to the aged care workforce, providers, provider peak bodies and worker representatives for their efforts.
Commonwealth Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer Alison McMillan said the remaining 2% of unvaccinated aged care workers were distributed across the country, “so they’re not going to have any major impact on service delivery to those most vulnerable”.
However, the public health orders do allow a degree of leeway. In Victoria, where 2% remain unvaccinated according to the latest data, unvaccinated workers can enter the workplace in full protection clothing if they have a forward booking for a vaccine.
A fully vaccinated worker at Arcare Knox in Wantirna South, 25km east of Melbourne’s CBD, tested positive and CEO Colin Singh said in a letter to the community on Monday that 94% of residents and 91% of staff had received either one or both doses of the Pfizer vaccine.
Providers have to provide weekly updates on its workforce vaccination and exemption status to the Commonwealth Department of Health.
“The accurate and timely reporting of data is critical to ensuring compliance with a State or Territory’s public health order. Data entered into the My Aged Care portal will be used by the Department to monitor compliance of providers and facilities,” said the Department.
As of yesterday, the Department is reviewing the date provided by operators and contact facilities directly to:
- ensure continuity of resident care standards as a priority
- understand the reasons for any non-medical exemptions or unvaccinated workers
- provide advice on the availability and access to a vaccine for unvaccinated workers
- provide advice on exemption requirements for the relevant state or territory public health order, and
- ensure exemptions have been reported correctly in the My Aged Care provider portal.
In addition, the focus of the mandatory COVID-19 vaccination requirement will now shift to completion of second doses for all residential aged care workers.
