Businesses Could Join Jab Effort In Months

Employees could start receiving coronavirus vaccinations at work within months under a push to include businesses in the immunisation rollout.

Major companies have put their hands up to administer jabs using workplace flu vaccination schemes already in place.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and John Frewen, who leads the vaccine task force, will meet with business leaders on Wednesday to discuss industry rollout options.

"It is a really good opportunity to share ideas but also to work cooperatively in areas like logistics, transport, premises, communication as well as community engagement," Mr Frydenberg told the Nine Network.

"All of those things where businesses bring a lot of resources to the table."

Vaccine incentives are on the agenda after firms including Qantas raised the prospect of rewarding vaccinated customers through loyalty schemes. Lieutenant General Frewen said both handouts. More policy settings to encourage people to receive a vaccine would be considered.

"As to whether they're necessary, I think for now there is a lot of interest from the community about getting vaccinated," he told reporters in Canberra.

"Perhaps later in the campaign when we're starting to get to those people who are less convinced or a bit more hesitant that may be a better time for incentives."

He said nurses used to doing workplace flu vaccinations could be trained to administer coronavirus shots.

With a significant speeding up of the sluggish rollout expected as more Pfizer doses arrive in Australia, businesses could join the rollout in September or October.

The COVID-19 vaccine task force boss sees it as an opportunity to relieve pressure on the healthcare system and state-run vaccine hubs.

"It's just another way to help accelerate the program and using another workforce that's out there, which might be training up of the workforce that currently does flu vaccinations," Lt Gen Frewen said.

Australian Industry Group head Innes Willox said the government must consider a GP-like indemnity for businesses facilitating jabs on-site.

"There's been suggestions workers compensation should cover it, but that just won't cut it," he told the Nine Network.

"Employers need the same sort of indemnities the pharmaceutical companies are getting and that doctors are getting for this to work."

People under 40 could also receive access to Pfizer shots from as early as September.

Most people in that age bracket are not currently eligible for Pfizer but can talk to their GP about receiving the AstraZeneca jab.

Almost 8000 younger people have received their first AstraZeneca dose since Prime Minister Scott Morrison highlighted it as an option last week.

A lack of supply has hampered the rollout with around 9.5 per cent of people in Australia over the age of 16 fully vaccinated.

AstraZeneca, which is only recommended for people over 60 because of extremely rare but serious blood clots, has a 12-week gap between doses, while Pfizer has a three-week space.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Nine Questions On Wooden Floor

Carpets, linoleum or laminate products unfortunately don’t fare as well over time regarding general wear and tear so you may find yourself replacing these far more often as the years go by and in turn costing you more time and money than initially expected. Some years past, laminate appeared to be fake and less natural, but this is not the case anymore. Floor Sealer provides a natural, oil-based, sealed finish for interior wooden floors. The flooring is good because of its sustainability credential, while it provides good performance in extra wear and splash resistance. If available a Flooring Pull Bar helps to make the joints tight. Once the final boards is in use a wedge or floor pull tool to make the final ones tight and nail. Nail two nails in each board where it crosses the joists. Tip - once you start the floor it is a good idea to work with two people. Towards the join. Two nails is best and highly recommended to avoid movement of the floor or curling boards as the seasons chang...
Read more

Study Reveals Bias Among Doctors Who Classify X-rays For Coal Miner's Black Lung Claims

University of Illinois Chicago researchers are the first to report on the financial conflicts of interest that exist among doctors who review the chest X-rays of coal miners who file workers' compensation claims of totally disabling disease with the U.S. Department of Labor's Federal Black Lung Program. The UIC researchers found that the determinations of these doctors-who are known as B-readers and who are certified by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, or NIOSH-were strongly associated with the party that hired them. By analyzing 63,780 radiograph classifications made by 264 physicians in Black Lung Program claims filed during 2000-2013, the researchers found that B-readers who were identified as ever being hired by a coal miner's employer read the images as negative for pneumoconiosis in 84.8% of the records. Pneumoconiosis is the general term for a class of lung diseases caused by the inhalation of dust-coal worker's pneumonoconiosis, or CWP,...
Read more

7 Concepts To Know About Workers Compensation

A working place is sometimes full of dirt and dangerous objects. These things can cause great danger. Threat to the life of a worker. In addition to the danger would be the lack of money to pay for medical expenses. Companies should provide medical benefits to their employees to guarantee their protection and safety all the time. Aside from the obligatory salary and exceptional benefits given to the employees, they must also given safety and protection. Workers compensation chino for instance, is one of the things to consider. If you happen to have this kind of benefit, its only obvious to you to do the right thing. And that is to learn how to make use of it. Given below are some tips. Talk immediately to your manager if you suspect that you acquire serious health problem during work. Regardless of the severity of your condition, you must make sure to report it to the supervisor. If you talk late, you would certainly encounter various problems. When you cannot do the report alone, then...
Read more