One in 12 residential staff still unvaccinated

The Department of Health is urging the remaining 8 per cent of unvaccinated residential aged care staff to get a COVID-19 vaccine before the Friday deadline.

As of 14 September, 92 per cent of reported residential aged care workers have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, a spokesperson from the Department of Health told Australian Ageing Agenda.

The remaining 8 per cent of staff have until Friday to get a vaccination to continue working in an aged care home under a national mandate and state and territory public health orders.

“For those yet to be vaccinated, we urge them to do so this week, to protect both themselves and the people they care for,” the health department spokesperson told AAA.

To date, 72 per cent of people working in residential aged care staff are fully vaccinated.

The health department has been contacting residential aged care homes with low vaccination rates, some of which relate to delays in uploading information, the spokesperson said.

“Where those figures are low, those calls have predominately highlighted that it is due to a slowness of the facilities uploading their latest information.

“Where there are more substantive issues, they are being case managed and additional vaccination teams are being mobilised this week,” the spokesperson said.

The health department expects to receive final vaccination figures from providers next Tuesday ahead of releasing them on Wednesday, the spokesperson said.

“Compliance work will then be undertaken by the health department in line with the public health orders in each state and territory to clarify if there are any outstanding staff or where exemptions may have been granted or would apply.”

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