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29.1 Workers subject to the Amended Vaccinations Order
from operating-guidelines-dhbs-providers-covid-19-vaccine-immunisation-programme-19nov2021
by WBOP PHO
29 Affected persons under the
Vaccinations Order
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The purpose of the COVID-19 Public Health Response (Vaccinations) Order 2021 (Vaccinations Order) is to prevent, and limit the risk of, the outbreak or spread of COVID19 by requiring certain work to be carried out by affected persons who are vaccinated.
Historical legislative context of the Amended Vaccinations Order
On 1 May 2021, the Vaccinations Order required a narrow group of border workers and Government officials working at the border or an managed isolation and quarantine facility (MIQF) to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
On 14 July 2021, following an amendment to the Vaccination Order, the requirement to be vaccinated against COVID-19 was broadened to most border workers (at affected airports and ports).
On 17 October 2021, three additional COVID-19 vaccines were included in the amendment, including COVID-19 vaccine Moderna, COVID-19 vaccine AstraZeneca or COVID-19 vaccine Janssen.
On 25 October 2021, three additional groups of affected persons were added in Schedule 2 as an amendment to the Vaccinations Order:
• Groups in relation to health and disability sector
• Groups in relation to prisons
• Groups in relation to affected education services
The Vaccinations Order is a legally binding health instruction which requires certain groups of workers to be vaccinated in order to undertake ‘certain work’.
29.1 Workers subject to the
Amended Vaccinations Order
The amended Vaccinations Order applies to people working at:
• managed isolation and quarantine facilities (MIQFs) and managed isolation facilities (MIFs), including workers who transport persons to or from MIQFs or MIFs • affected airports and aircraft, including aircrew members, all airside workers and landside workers who interact with international arriving or transiting passengers • affected ports, including pilots, stevedores and other workers who board, or carry out work on or around, affected ships • accommodation services where specified aircrew members are self-isolating • settings within the health and disability sector, including health practitioners, care and support workers, and other workers who carry out work where health services are provided • at a corrections prison, including staff and other persons employed by a contractor or subcontractor to provide services • settings within the education sector including staff, volunteers and unpaid persons who work at or for an affected education service as well as providers of a home-based education and care service.
It also includes individuals doing work:
• that involves handling affected items removed from ships, aircraft, MIQFs or MIFs • where the job is for a company that is routinely engaged to provide services at any of the above settings • where the person ‘has contact with’ people who belong to different groups in the
Vaccinations Order.
A full list of the groups of affected persons required to be vaccinated to carry out certain work is outlined in Schedule 2 of the Vaccinations Order.
Note: Identification of these workers are managed through their employers and regulatory bodies.
It is the responsibility of the DHBs to ensure access to timely vaccination appointments are available to affected persons under the Vaccinations Order. The transitional provisions for affected persons to be vaccinated are outlined in Schedule 1 of the Vaccinations Order.
29.1.2 Alternative vaccines
On 17 October 2021, three additional vaccines were added to the Vaccination Order including COVID-19 vaccine Moderna, COVID-19 vaccine AstraZeneca and COVID-19 vaccine Janssen. This amendment enables affected persons who were vaccinated overseas with one of the three additional vaccines or Pfizer to carry out work.
For further detail on the requirements contact IMAC on 0800 IMMUNE (466 863), option 1 (health professionals) and then option 2 (COVID-19 vaccinator support) and refer to Schedule 3 of the Vaccinations Order and the Ministry’s Immunisation Handbook.
