COVID vaccination no longer needed for visitors to NSW aged care homes | LucyCormack
Doctors and aged care facilities are urging the state government to reverse a decision ending the legal requirement for visitors to be vaccinated against COVID-19, as NSW faces a surge in Omicron cases.
The move has baffled the care sector at the same time as health authorities warn that rising case numbers could rival earlier peaks in the pandemic and doctors warn it will unnecessarily burden the aged care and health sectors. “It’s bemusing they are doing it now. Most facilities, residents and families would want to maintain it. We know aged care is most at risk; over 2000 residents nationally have died since the start of this year”.
“If we put ourselves in a position to make it harder to protect those people, we do the whole system a disservice,” he said. About that time, more than 61 per cent of people in NSW aged 16 years and over were fully vaccinated. Today, more than 95 per cent of eligible people have received a second dose.