Mandates requiring healthcare workers in New South Wales to receive two doses of the Covid vaccine will be lifted this week.
In March, NSW Health said it was reviewing the rule and it has now been revealed it will be removed for existing staff and new recruits from Thursday.
The rule was implemented in August 2021 and about six months later, NSW Health said 995 staff had resigned or been made redundant over the policy.
Former paramedic and anti-mandate campaigner John Larter received a letter from NSW Health lawyers who had written to his legal team informing him of the change.
“This symbolizes that NSW Health has recognized that it can no longer maintain its position due to overwhelming evidence that mandatory vaccination was an abuse of power,” Mr Larter said. Ben Fordham from 2GB live.
Mandates requiring healthcare workers in NSW to receive two doses of the Covid vaccine will be lifted this week (file image)
Former paramedic John Larter (pictured), who previously challenged NSW Health’s vaccination mandate in court, revealed this week that the department is removing the mandate.
“It was completely disproportionate and unreasonable to lay off frontline workers, negatively impacting healthcare workers, patient care and outcomes,” he said.
“Hopefully all those laid off workers will be reinstated and compensated.”
Queensland and Western Australia removed Covid vaccine requirements for healthcare workers in 2023.
New South Wales and some other states require healthcare or aged care staff to get a flu vaccine each year.
Larter had previously launched legal action against the mandates and took NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard to the Supreme Court in 2021.
The devout Catholic argued that the laws were invalid and prevented residents from knowingly opposing the vaccine on religious grounds.
Larter said he did not receive the AstraZeneca vaccine because he believed it came from cells from aborted fetuses.
He lost his court battle after Judge Christine Adamson dismissed his case.
New South Wales Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said NSW Health will continue to strongly recommend that all its workers stay up to date with their vaccinations, in line with advice for the wider community.
“While the latest evidence shows that most people have developed protection against severe disease due to vaccination and/or previous infection, Covid remains a serious public health problem,” Dr Chant said.
NSW Health introduced the rule in August 2021 requiring all workers to receive two doses of the Covid vaccine (pictured)
A recent study found that vaccines prevented thousands of deaths in New South Wales when the Omicron wave hit.
“Covid vaccination continues to provide strong protection against serious illness, particularly for people at highest risk of serious illness and death from Covid, including older adults and those with underlying health conditions.”
The latest advice from the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (ATAGI) recommends a Covid vaccine every six months for all adults aged 75 and over.
A Covid vaccine every 12 months is also recommended for adults aged 65 to 74, and adults aged 18 to 64 with severe immunosuppression should consider a vaccine every six months.
An annual Covid vaccine should be considered for all other adults aged 18-64 and for those aged 5-18 with severe immunosuppression.
Covid vaccines prevented almost 18,000 deaths among people over 50 in New South Wales when the Omicron strain arrived, a study has found.
A joint research team from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and Monash University analyzed Australia’s vaccination campaign to get an idea of what would have happened if the rollout in New South Wales had been different.
The team used computer simulations to find out how vaccines and boosters affected the Omicron wave between August 2021 and July 2022.