From today, people in the Northern Territory who work in a wide range of industries — including teachers, tutors, hospitality workers and beauticians — must have had all three COVID-19 vaccines to go into the office.
Those who are not triple dosed now risk losing their jobs and a $5,000 fine.
Health Minister Natasha Fyles described vaccination as "key" to curbing the spread of coronavirus in the NT, and said the mandate was a "long-term measure" which was likely to remain in place even as other restrictions were eased.
According to Ms Fyles, 64 per cent of people 16 and older have now had their third dose.
But who will be impacted by the mandate?
And why is the third dose so important?
Which workers does the mandate impact?
Today marks the NT's second booster mandate.
Workers in high-risk settings such as hospitals, aged care facilities and prisons were already required to have had three doses from mid-March.
- Have contact with vulnerable people (such as kids under five or those who are immunocompromised)
- Work somewhere which has high risk of infection
- Work in the operation or maintenance of essential infrastructure or logistics
Some workers may be able to work from home.
Australian Education Union NT branch secretary Adam Lampe confirmed teachers were part of the cohort who needed to roll up their sleeves, however he did not believe there would be many education workers who would lose their jobs.
"It's going to have virtually nil effect," he said.
"In the territory, 99 per cent of the teachers are going to be double vaxxed and why wouldn't you get the booster?"
Mr Lampe said between 20 and 30 people left the service after the previous mandate which required teachers to be double dosed.
Other workers who now need all three doses include:
- 1.People who work in essential infrastructure such as electricity, gas, water, sewerage, telecommunications, roads and remote infrastructure
- 2.People who work in high-risk settings where COVID-19 transmission or an outbreak may occur such as mine sites, schools, food processing distribution, cold storage facilities including abattoirs and cruise ships
- 3.People who work with children aged under 5 years including teachers, childcare workers, tutors and dancing teachers
- 4.People who work in customer-facing roles including workers in retail, finance, hospitality, gyms, beauty
Why is there a booster mandate on top of the vaccination mandate?
Ms Fyles said the booster dose was "vital" to protect vulnerable Territorians from severe COVID-19 disease and death, which is why it was mandated.
"It's around slowing the spread of COVID-19 and reducing the severity of illness," she said.
"Yes, people who are vaccinated still get sick.
Palmerston GP Super Clinic chief executive Robyn Cahill agreed.
She said the "third shot was the charm" in terms of preventing serious disease and hospitalisation and urged Territorians to get all three doses.
How many people will lose their jobs following this mandate?
It's not clear.
Workers will need to provide they've been triple vaccinated by showing their certificate to their employers.
Ms Cahill said their clinic had been busy this week, with lots of booking for people keen to get their third jab.
However, Ms Cahill said they had administered half the number of booster doses as they had first and second shots.
"I certainly think people are COVID exhausted for lots of lots of reasons."
Ms Cahill said the clinic had administered around 8,500 first and second doses, but only around 4,000 booster doses.
Ms Fyles said around 7-10 days from today, the NT government would have figures on the number of workers who hadn't had all three.
She said the government would take an "education first" approach to people who didn't comply with the rules.
What about people who have had COVID?
In the NT, people can get vaccinated when they no longer have any symptoms from a previous COVID-19 infection.
"For some people that's just a week or so, for others that symptoms do lag on," Ms Fyles said.
People who have tested positive to COVID-19 have a "grace period" of 16 weeks to be up-to-date with all three doses.
