AP
The Ministry of Health s nationwide Covid-19 vaccination campaign is now under way with border workers and MIQ staff and their household contacts the first to start receiving the vaccine.
A new report to the Counties Manukau District Health Board shows it has been grappling with the potential legal and ethical ramifications of dealing with staff who refuse to be vaccinated against Covid-19. South Auckland has been at the epicentre of the two most recent outbreaks and there has been debate about people in the area getting the jab first. The Ministry of Health s nationwide vaccination campaign began on February 19, with border workers and managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ) staff and their household contacts the first to start receiving the vaccine. Non-border frontline healthcare workers are expected to be the next in line.
Covid 19 coronavirus: South Auckland DHB s vaccination conundrum nzherald.co.nz - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from nzherald.co.nz Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The result of the proposal would be the dilution of a skilled diversional therapist workforce and the equivalent loss of four fulltime positions a week, she said. “This proposal has resulted in a further reduction of 3.5 fulltime positions per week of caregiver staff which is further compounded by the reduction of 1.25 fulltime position (44 hours) of Enrolled Nursing staff a week.”
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Timaru’s Strathallan Life Care Village, Rest Home and Hospital staff are worried they will not be able to deliver a high level of quality care to residents if proposed restructure goes ahead. Duncan said NZNO members were worried they would not be able to provide effective care for residents under this new model as caregivers already struggled with high workloads.
The announcement came as Medsafe granted the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine provisional approval for use in New Zealand, allowing the two-dose inoculation to be administered to anyone 16 or over. Health workers, border workers, their families, and those most at risk of death from Covid-19 will be first in line.
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Retirement village and aged care provider Arvida Group says all new employees will need to consent to vaccination against Covid-19. (File photo) Susan Hornsby-Geluk, managing partner at Dundas Street Employment Lawyers, said stories of Similar policies were likely to become an issue in New Zealand as vaccines became available, she said.