Queensland Health has announced a Government COVID-19 vaccination mandate for workers in education, early childhood, corrections, youth justice and airport settings.
Premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk said it was the only way to prevent deaths and protect Queenslanders from new variants of the virus.
“These measures are about protecting our most vulnerable,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
“To keep our children safe, we must ensure our teachers and frontline education workers are vaccinated,” she said.
Minister for Health, Yvette D’Ath said health measures like the expanded mandate were an important part of the State’s plan to keep Queenslanders safe.
“Under this direction, everyone working in these nominated high-risk settings must receive a first dose by 17 December and be fully vaccinated by 23 January 2022 ahead of the start of the new school term,” Ms D’Ath said.
“We have consulted widely in developing this direction and the response has been positive,” she said.
“We’ve already mandated the vaccine for public and private healthcare staff, now we’re applying the same set of rules for additional cohorts in settings that have an increased infection risk.”
Ms D’Ath said as an example, airport workers might come into contact with hundreds of people a day from all corners of the country — and international destinations.
“We know prisons can be high-risk environments for transmission of COVID-19 as prisoners are accommodated together,” she said.
“Education settings also have high movement of people, both staff and students.
“This direction will extend to any person working in an education, early childhood, corrections, youth justice or airport setting, or may visit these settings as part of their job responsibilities,” Ms D’Ath said.
