Several large southern organisations and possibly multiple schools will be starting today without some staff, but just how many is unclear.
Vaccination mandates came into force yesterday for educators and healthcare workers, who were required to have had at least one dose or face possibly losing their job.
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It was unclear how many employees around the South had chosen not to get vaccinated.
Southern District Health Board people and capability executive director Tanya Basel said from today any staff member who was unvaccinated would be unable to attend work.
It had been working with staff on a case-by-case basis, and those still in the consultation phase would be stood down on pay.
‘‘Some may be on leave if they are planning on having the vaccination soon but due to health issues can't have the vaccine right now.’’
The SDHB anticipated any disruption to its services would be limited as contingency planning was in place.
Last Thursday healthcare services organisation TAS released vaccination data for all 20 DHBs.
At that time, about 95% of SDHB staff had had at least one Covid-19 vaccination and 92% were fully vaccinated.
TAS recorded vaccination status of all DHB staff, although mandatory vaccination only applies to high-risk workers in the health and disability sector.
Yesterday, DHB spokeswoman Rosemary Clements said DHBs believed 2%-3% of their workforce had not had at least one dose — that figure was not broken down by DHB region.
“We will have more information about the number of staff who have been stood down and those who have resigned this week, as final numbers are confirmed over the next couple of days.”
Southland Primary Principals’ Association president Simon Bell said no comment would be made this week. He did not respond when asked why that was.
Otago Secondary Principals’ Association president Lindy Cavanagh-Monaghan, Southland Secondary Principals’ Association president Grant Dick and Otago Primary Principals’ Association president Gareth Swete were unavailable for comment yesterday.
University of Otago staff working in the health and education areas were also affected by the mandate, but it was not known yesterday how many staff had refused to get vaccinated.
Human resources director Kevin Seales said it was clear affected staff who remained unvaccinated would not be able to carry out their usual work.
From today, unvaccinated staff would not be permitted to enter locations to carry out their work where healthcare was being provided.
That included facilities such as the Dental School, all Medical School sites and Student Health.
The Ministry of Education said if an employee was willing to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine, which will be available in late November, then they should be provided alternative duties or placed on discretionary leave until they could be vaccinated.
If staff are unwilling to be vaccinated then alternative working arrangements must be considered before dismissal becomes an option, the ministry said.
If staff were unwilling to be vaccinated and there were no reasonable alternatives then the employment could be terminated.
Ministry hautu (guide) for the education workforce Anna Welanyk said teachers needed to provide evidence of their vaccination status to their employer.
Schools could accept any proof they considered provided assurance the staff member was vaccinated.
Schools did not need to provide proof to the ministry, but there was no concern schools would allow unvaccinated staff to continue to work on site.
The timing for mandatory vaccinations was slightly different for people working in prisons.
They were required to have their first dose by November 7, and have until December 8 to be fully vaccinated.
Department of Corrections chief custodial officer Neil Beales said as of November 12, 10 Otago Corrections Facility staff members had not been vaccinated and were on paid special leave.
Of the 328 staff, two had exemptions, 288 were fully vaccinated, and 28 were partially vaccinated.
Of Invercargill Prison’s 112 staff, 108 were fully vaccinated, one was partially vaccinated, one had an exemption, and two had not been vaccinated and were on leave.
‘‘We have plans in place to manage the small percentage of prison-based staff that have been placed on paid special leave, and, at this time, we are confident there will be no significant impact on the safe and secure operations of our prisons.’’
