South Australia’s firefighters have been added to the ranks of workers who must be vaccinated against COVID-19.
Announced by South Australia Police (SAPOL), the new Emergency Management Direction comes into effect next Sunday (13 February) and aims to maintain and minimise disruption to metropolitan fire services and reduce the spread of COVID-19 to vulnerable community members.
SAPOL said the Direction applied to all South Australia Metropolitan Fire Service (MFS) workers, both metropolitan and regional, including firefighters, public sector employees, along with contractors and volunteers who performed work in an MFS setting.
It said the mandate required MFS workers to have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccination approved by Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA); have received or booked in for, a second dose of a COVID-19 vaccination; and have a third COVID-19 booster dose or a booking, within the prescribed time.
SAPOL said the prescribed time meant that for a person who had been infected with COVID-19 within four months of their first positive COVID-19 test, or within four months of their second dose; and for any other person, within four months of their second dose of a TGA approved or recognised COVID-19 vaccination.
It said however that MFS workers were not required to have a COVID-19 booster shot if they had a medical certificate or a letter from a medical practitioner or they were contractors who engaged in work at an MFS setting on a single occasion or on an infrequent and irregular basis.
The four-page Emergency Management (Metropolitan Fire Service Workers Vaccination) (COVID-19) Direction 2022 can be accessed at this PS News link.
