Victoria adds booster shots to mandatory vaccination policy

While employees across Victoria are being encouraged to continue working remotely amid the sudden rise of COVID-19 cases, essential workers remain the exception and are needed by their employers to be on the road ensuring seamless delivery of essential services.

To safeguard their health against the ongoing spread, Victoria’s government has expanded its mandatory vaccination policy, making it compulsory for workers from key sectors to get booster shots. According to reports, the Victorian Health Department has stated that fully vaccinated employees in the following sectors will need to get their booster shots before they are permitted to work onsite:

• Healthcare
• Aged care
• Disability
• Corrections
• Quarantine accommodation
• Food distribution
• Abattoir, meat, poultry, and seafood processing workers

Beyond essential workers, Health Minister Martin Foley also urged employees working from home to get booster shots. He strongly recommended individuals to work remotely if they can. 

Premier Daniel Andrews too recommended working and studying from home if possible.

"We're asking Victorians to work and undertake adult education from home if they can, but we'll continue to assess this as the situation evolves.”

Beyond emphasising the importance of booster shots and staying indoor, the government has also introduced new safety restrictions around social gatherings which include:

Closing the dance floors in entertainment venues except during weddings 

Visits to aged care facilities will also be limited to five visitors with negative rapid antigen tests RATs. Without negative results, visitors will be capped to two people a day.

The announcement came in following the sudden surge in cases. The Health Department revealed that Victoria reported 34,994 new COVID-19 cases yesterday. With cases on a consistent upward trend, governments and corporates will need to ensure they are equipped to support their workforce with needed healthcare resources, in addition to preparing for a potential worker shortage.