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Aussie Aged Care Worker Refuses To Get Mandatory Coronavirus Vaccine

Aussie Aged Care Worker Refuses To Get Mandatory Coronavirus Vaccine

The man, who insists he's not an anti-vaxxer is concerned about the long-term side effects.

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie

An Australian aged care worker has broken ranks with nationally mandated rules to reveal he doesn't want to get the coronavirus vaccine.

The National Cabinet agreed aged care workers will be one of the two frontline working professions where the Covid-19 jab will be mandatory - regardless of personal beliefs.

However, a bloke has told A Current Affair he is concerned about the vaccine's side effects and doesn't want to be put between a rock and a hard place.

A Current Affair/Channel 9

"I'm aware of many of my colleagues who are now fearful of getting the vaccine and feel coerced and pressured that if they don't, they will be unemployed," he told the Channel 9 programme.

"There are many, many people like that. I'm certainly hesitant in relation to the Covid vaccine. The flu vaccine has been well-tested, well-researched."

The man, who wished to remain anonymous insists he's not an anti-vaxxer and has worked in the aged care industry for three decades.

The staffer is merely concerned with the long-term effects of the vaccine.

"I find it scary that we can develop a vaccine and say that it's going to be effective in such a short period of time without having a good study trial and reviewing the side effects people have had, including death," he said.

Australia's regulator has approved two vaccines, Pfizer and AstraZeneca, for mass use in the country and for that to happen the candidates have to go through extensive regulatory testing.

PA

The vaccines have been found to be safe and effective in the fight against the coronavirus. Researchers have identified a rare risk of blood clots in younger patients for the AstraZeneca vaccine, which is why it was only being given to older Australians.

The National Cabinet agreed to focus on aged care workers being vaccinated as residents make up a startlingly high number of the deaths associated with coronavirus in Australia.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, 685 of the nearly 1,000 deaths have come from aged care homes, which is massively large proportion.

As a result, it was decided to make aged care workers get the jab and they'll have to receive their first dose by mid-September.

Following the emergency Cabinet meeting, Mr Morrison said: "Imposing on a person the requirement to have a vaccine or not be able to work in a particular sector is something that no government would do lightly and as a result we have ben considering this matter for some time now based on the best possible medical advice.

"This is a serious situation we're confronting and as always we're doing it together."

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Australia