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Note: Should you have a medical reason for not being vaccinated against Covid-19 and/or be concerned about termination of your employment being under consideration by your employer please contact NZNO for advice or support on 0800 28 38 48.
COVID-19 Public Health Response (Vaccinations) Order 2021
On 23 January 2022, the Government updated the COVID-19 Public Health Response (Vaccinations) Order to require people working in a variety of settings to receive booster doses of a COVID-19 vaccine (i.e. three doses in total for most people).
The following groups of NZNO members are covered by the Order:
- Members working in managed isolation and quarantine facilities (MIQ),
- Members working in the health and disability sector,
- Members working in prisons,
- Members working at the border (e.g. ports and airports),
- Members working in the education sector (e.g. schools).
Members working in MIQ, in the health and disability sector or at the border must receive their booster dose before the later of either:
- 25 February 2022, or,
- The date 183 days after the date on which they were fully vaccinated (for most people, when they received their second dose).
Members working in prisons and the education sector must receive their booster dose before the later of either
- 1 March 2022, or,
- The date 183 days after the date on which they were fully vaccinated (for most people, when they received their second dose).
All NZNO members covered by the Order should have been fully vaccinated (two doses for most people) by 1 January 2022.
NZNO supports the Government's policy of requiring health care workers to be vaccinated. Most health care workers are already vaccinated, and this Order provides reassurance and certainty to both health care workers and the public accessing health care services.
The safety and wellbeing of health care workers is the key to overcoming the Covid-19 crisis and high levels of community vaccination help keep NZNO members safe.
For clarity, a mandatory vaccination order simply means the Government has decided that Covid-19 vaccination is essential for people filling the affected roles. It does not mean that anyone is forced to get a vaccine.
It is NZNO's view that members who are covered by the Order and decline the vaccine are potentially putting their jobs at risk. Being vaccinated has become a legal expectation of health care workers. Based on recent case law, NZNO does not see a wide range of options for members who choose not to be vaccinated for reasons other than any legal exemption.