Mandatory Booster messages, FAQs and Scenarios General Key messages The Government announced on 21 December 2021 that COVID-19 booster vaccinations would be mandated for workforces covered by the COVID-19 Public Health Response (Vaccinations) Order 2021 (Vaccinations Order). Changes to Vaccinations Order will come into force at 11.59pm on 23 January 2022. We know that the most likely place for Omicron to enter the community is at the border, so we want all border and eligible health workers to have the extra protection the booster vaccine provides to protect them and their families. The border continues to be our first line of defence. International evidence shows that booster doses provide good protection against Omicron, and by achieving high levels of booster protection we will be able to reduce the spread and severity of Omicron when it arrives. There are different mandated dates for when booster vaccinations are required for the workforces covered by the Vaccinations Order. These are: • Border and MIQ workforces, if eligible for a booster, are required to have this by 15 February 2022 (by 11.59pm on 14 February 2022) • Health and Disability workforces, if eligible for a booster, are required to have this by 15 February 2022 (by 11.59pm on 14 February 2022) • Education, Corrections, Police, Defence, and Fire and Emergency workforces, if eligible for a booster, are required to have this by 1 March 2022 (by 11.59pm, 28 February 2022) • Note that workers covered in Schedule 2 part 10 of the Vaccinations Order and currently not covered by this mandate - this includes: o Workers at a food and drink business or service o Workers who carry out work at gyms o Workers who carry out work at permitted event, regardless of whether the work is carried out before people arrive at, or leave, the permitted event o Workers at close-proximity business or service o Workers who carry out work for a tertiary education provider at tertiary education premises that are located in an area described in Part 1 of Schedule 7 of the COVID19 Public Health Response (Protection Framework) Order 2021 The Vaccinations Order mandates that a booster dose is required by six months (183 days) from the end of the primary vaccination course. If the mandated date of your booster dose for your workforce falls before the date your vaccine booster shot is due (which is six months after completion of your primary course), you are not required to get your booster until you reach the sixmonth threshold. However, you are eligible for a vaccine booster shot from four months after the completion of your primary vaccine course and we recommend you take the opportunity for an earlier dose, rather than wait the full six months. You must be 18 years or older to receive a booster dose. If you have people who work for you, who are under 18 years old and have had their primary vaccination course, they are able to continue to work. Although the Vaccinations Order requires a booster dose six months after the primary course of vaccines, we would like to encourage all employers to support staff to get their booster vaccinations at four months (if clinically appropriate). 1
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