New Zealand forces health workers and teachers to get vaccinated against coronavirus

New Zealand announced on Monday that the majority of health workers and teachers will not be able to carry out their activity if they have not been vaccinated against the coronavirus covid-19.

“We can’t leave anything to chance, that’s why we make it mandatory”, stated Chris Hipkins, minister in charge of the fight against the coronavirus and also head of Education.

Doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers who are directly in contact with patients will need to be fully vaccinated before December 1. Teaching staff in contact with students must have received both doses by January 1.

The Royal College of General Practitioners of New Zealand supported this initiative and its president, Samantha Murton, described the measure as “daring but necessary”.

“Vaccination continues to be our most effective tool to protect ourselves against contagions and diseases”, said.

For months, the archipelago was protected from the pandemic, mainly due to strict border measures. But the appearance in Auckland in August of the much more contagious delta variant changed the situation.

Despite containment measures, Covid-19 is spreading to the neighboring provinces of Northland and Waikato.

Last week, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern acknowledged that the “zero covid” strategy that until now had been in place in the archipelago did not stop the transmission of the virus.

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