VACCINATION – AUSTRALIA

Virgin to reward the fully vaxxed

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Original article by Robyn Ironside
The Australian – Page: 15 : 2-Sep-21

Virgin Australia will offer incentives for both staff and customers to get COVID-19 vaccinations. Virgin wants all of its frontline staff to be fully vaccinated by 15 November, and they will be given the opportunity to win prizes such as business-class flights and a holiday on Hamilton Island, as well as extra annual leave. Virgin customers will in turn be offered rewards such as business-class flights and Velocity frequent-flyer points. Winners must have proof of vaccination to claim a prize.

CORPORATES
VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED

PM: Christmas trips likely

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 25-Aug-21

Prime Minister Scott Morrison contends that Australians should be able to travel interstate to spend Christmas with family and friends once 70-80 per cent of the adult population has been fully vaccinated. Morrison has again urged the states and territories to back his government’s four-stage plan for reopening the economy, reiterating that lockdowns will do more harm than good when the vaccination target rate has been achieved. Meanwhile, employers’ groups have urged the federal government to relax the restrictions on travelling overseas for business purposes, arguing that people who have been vaccinated should be allowed to do so and quarantine at home upon their return.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

COVID vaccine booster shots will happen in Australia

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Original article by Nick Sas, Sophie Scott
abc.net.au – Page: Online : 25-Aug-21

The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation will provide the federal government with initial advice on COVID-19 vaccine booster doses in coming weeks. However, ATAGI’s co-chair Allen Cheng says the nation will not be in a position to start giving booster shots until all eligible Australians have received at least one vaccine dose. He adds that people who are immunosuppressed or in ultra-high risk categories are likely to be given priority for booster shots.

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AUSTRALIAN TECHNICAL ADVISORY GROUP ON IMMUNISATION

Banks eye mandatory jabs for staff

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian – Page: 15 & 19 : 24-Aug-21

An Australian Banking Association working group is believed to have discussed the issue of mandatory COVID-19 vaccination for branch-based bank employees. Some banks have adopted a policy of voluntary vaccination for frontline staff, while the major banks are also seeking legal advice about the issue of vaccinations and their requirement to provide a safe working environment. National Australia Bank recently began offering the AstraZeneca vaccine to its employees, with an initial focus on staff in local government areas that are at the centre of Sydney’s current outbreak.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BANKING ASSOCIATION, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB

PM’s blast for slow-jab states

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Original article by Geoff Chambers, Richard Ferguson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 24-Aug-21

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has urged state leaders to support the federal government’s four-stage plan for reopening the economy. He has reiterated that restrictions must be eased when 70-80 per cent of the nation’s population has been fully vaccinated, while he has warned that Australians must live with COVID-19. However, there are concerns that some states are falling behind in meeting the vaccination threshold targets; based on current figures, Western Australia is unlikely to achieve a full vaccination rate of 80 per cent until late November, while Queensland will not do so until late December.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Doherty target risks death of 25,000 people

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Original article by Richard Ferguson
The Australian – Page: 4 : 24-Aug-21

The federal government’s plan to reopen the economy once 80 per cent of Australians aged 16+ have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 is based on advice from the Doherty Institute. However, a group of economists and medical researchers has warned that this threshold is too low; they contend that the government should instead aim to fully vaccinate 90 per cent of Australians, including children. Australian National University economics professor Quentin Grafton says that retaining the 80 per cent threshold could potentially result in 25,000 deaths from COVID-19 and some 270,000 cases of so-called ‘long Covid’.

CORPORATES
UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE. PETER DOHERTY INSTITUTE FOR INFECTION AND IMMUNITY, AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

Pressure on airlines to vaccinate workers

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Original article by Robyn Ironside
The Australian – Page: 17 : 20-Aug-21

Alliance Aviation’s Scott McMillan expects more airlines to adopt a policy of mandatory COVID-19 vaccination for their employees. Alliance will require all staff and contractors to be vaccinated by 15 November; Qantas recently announced that it will also enforce a ‘no jab, no job’ policy. Michael Tooma, the managing partner of law firm Clyde & Co, says that mandatory vaccination is a "lawful and reasonable direction" for sectors such as aviation under occupational health and safety laws. He agrees that other airlines are likely to implement such a policy.

CORPORATES
ALLIANCE AVIATION SERVICES LIMITED – ASX AQZ, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, CLYDE AND COMPANY LLP

News chief urges bosses to champion the rollout

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Original article by James Madden
The Australian – Page: 7 : 20-Aug-21

News Corp Australasia’s executive chairman Michael Miller has called on Australia’s business owners and leaders to "cham­pion the vaccination rollout". He says the media company is doing all it can to encourage and help its staff to get vaccinated as soon as they can, and he urges all other businesses to adopt the same approach. Miller has called on federal and state leaders to set vaccination targets and a timetable that will enable all Australians "to plan for life in a new normal state of affairs".

CORPORATES
NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Get vaxxed or leave, Qantas chief warns

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Original article by Robyn Ironside
The Australian – Page: 13 & 17 : 19-Aug-21

Qantas is the latest Australian company – and the largest so far – to require mandatory COVID-19 vaccination for its staff. CEO Alan Joyce contends that vaccination is necessary for the safety of the airline’s employees, customers and the destinations to which it flies. Joyce has advised that all frontline staff must be vaccinated by 15 November, and he has warned that those who do not have valid medical grounds for refusing a vaccination will need to look at career options in other industries. A survey of Qantas employees has found that 75 per cent of them support mandatory vaccination.

CORPORATES
QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN

Unions slam compulsory vaccine push

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Original article by Glenda Korporaal, Jared Lynch
The Australian – Page: 15 & 19 : 6-Aug-21

The question as to whether employers can mandate that staff must be vaccinated against COVID-19 has come under renewed scrutiny after SPC’s move to enforce a ‘no jab, no job’ policy. The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union’s national president Andrew Dettmer has criticised the fruit and vegetable processor’s lack of consultation, as well as its unrealistic deadline of six weeks for staff to get their first dose at a time when vaccine supplies are limited. Lawyers have also questioned the validity of mandatory staff vaccinations. Many Australian companies are actively encouraging their staff to get vaccinated, with some offering incentives such as paid leave.

CORPORATES
SPC AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN MANUFACTURING WORKERS’ UNION