Vaccination of the country’s 12,000 border workers is expected to start next Saturday and be completed in two to three weeks, with household contacts of the border workers to be the next group vaccinated. About 70 per cent of the population will need to be vaccinated in order to achieve herd immunity. The chamber has suggested to its members that they have the discretion to give their employees incentives to get vaccinated, including by paying one-off bonuses. But employers couldn’t force their existing staff to get vaccinated as, under the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act, medical treatment required informed consent.