The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners supports the call for mandatory vaccinations for those in the health and disability sector as announced this afternoon by COVID-19 Minister Chris Hipkins.
College President Dr Samantha Murton says, "As health professionals we need to ensure the safety of our patients, communities, and colleagues. Given the speed at which Delta is spreading throughout our country, this is a bold, but necessary call to make.
Today’s announcement sets in place vaccination deadlines for those working in general practice, amongst other groups.
"The people who work in these sectors are working in close contact with our most vulnerable members of the community; those who are too young to be vaccinated or who have significant underlying medical conditions.
"While most GPs are already fully vaccinated, now is the time to make one final push to be fully vaccinated before 1 December 2021. This means our GPs need to have their first dose by 30 October to be fully vaccinated by the deadline."
This Saturday, 16 October is the nationwide ‘Super Saturday’ event where all eligible Kiwis can get vaccinated.
Find out more about Super Saturday.