Wellington, New Zealand Oct 11 (BUS): The New Zealand government announced Monday that most health care workers and teachers in New Zealand will soon legally require a coronavirus vaccination.
The new mandate requires doctors, pharmacists, community nurses and many health care workers to be fully vaccinated by December. Teachers and education personnel should be fully vaccinated by January.
The Minister for COVID-19 Response, Chris Hepkins, said many in those professions have already taken their toll but can’t leave anything to chance, especially as these people deal with patients and young children who are not yet approved to receive the vaccine themselves, The Associated reports Press.
“It’s not an easy decision, but we need people working with vulnerable communities who haven’t yet been vaccinated to take that extra step,” Hipkins said.
New Zealand is already requiring many people working at the border to be vaccinated.
The announcement comes as New Zealand battles an outbreak of a highly transmissible delta species in its largest city, Auckland.
Initial responses were from groups representing affected workers in favor of the state.
“Given the speed with which deltas are spreading across our country, this is a bold but necessary call,” said Dr Samantha Morton, Chair of the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Monday that Auckland will remain closed for at least another week, while areas near Waikato and Northland may emerge from lockdown Thursday if no significant spread of the virus is found in those places.
Auckland has been closed for nearly two months, since the outbreak was discovered. 35 new local cases were found in the city on Monday, bringing the total number of cases in the outbreak to just over 1,600.
Ardern acknowledged last week that the virus was in New Zealand to stay, and would not be completely eradicated through measures including lockdown and contact tracing, which have quashed previous outbreaks.
Ardern is urging people to get vaccinated as a step toward reopening the country.
For the coming weekend, the government is planning a “Super Saturday” vaccination campaign that is similar to Election Day, when vaccination centers will be open all day and into the evening.
About 68% of New Zealanders have had at least one dose of the vaccine and 47% have been fully vaccinated. Among those aged 12 and over, the numbers rise to 82% and 57%, respectively.
On Monday, the government also announced a pre-purchase agreement for 60,000 cycles of the new experimental contraceptive pill by drug company Merck, pending approval by New Zealand regulators.
The birth control pill, molnopiravir, would be the first drug shown to treat COVID-19, if it is approved by regulators including the US Food and Drug Administration.
RAE