Peaks launch vaccination support service

Aged care provider peak bodies Aged and Community Services Australia and Leading Age Services Australia have joined forces to boost staff vaccinations in the lead up to the mid-September target.

Around a third of residential aged care workers are yet to have a COVID-19 vaccine, just over three weeks before it becomes mandatory, according to government figures.

The ACSA and LASA Staff Vaccination Support Service is targeting residential aged care providers who are experiencing low staff vaccination uptake or at risk of failing to get staff vaccinated by the 17 September deadline agreed to by National Cabinet.

The initiative, which builds on sector collaboration to implement single site worker arrangements, sees the two peak bodies working with the Australian Department of Health to identify and proactively engage providers needing or requesting support.

LASA general manager policy and advocacy Tim Hicks said the initiative would help providers and staff meet the first dose deadline.

“The service will engage with providers at the state and territory level to identify barriers to vaccine uptake and help them get access to vaccinations for staff as quickly as possible.

“The campaign will also provide communications information to get the message out and an employee relations toolkit to assist with discussions with staff on questions they may have about vaccines and mandating them,” Mr Hicks told Australian Ageing Agenda.

The initiative includes a social media campaign using the hashtag #ProudToProtect to encourage and support staff with information to get vaccinated.

“[We] will be calling on all staff to get their vaccination and show that they are #ProudToProtect their older residents,” Mr Hicks said.

A new interactive map launched by the health department this weeks shows what proportion of residential aged care staff in a defined area have had their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

The map draws on the vaccination data that residential facilities report through the My Aged Care Portal and will be updated every Wednesday in line with the reporting requirements announced in June.

As at 23 August, residential aged care providers have reported the vaccination status of 276,440 employees, of whom 132,105 are fully vaccinated (48 per cent) and 59,206 have had first dose only (21 per cent), a spokesperson from the Department of Health told AAA.

Find out more and access the map.

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