Hundreds Of Victorian Paramedics Are Refusing To Get The Covid-19 Vaccine

Hundreds of Victorian paramedics are refusing to get the Covid-19 vaccine.

The ABC reports there are 256 'on-road clinical staff' from Ambulance Victoria who have rejected the opportunity to get vaccinated.

That makes up 4.6 per cent of the state's total paramedics.

The Gippsland and Grampians regions have the highest rates of vaccine refusal, while the lowest rates were in 'complex care' in the metro area.

The head of the Ambulance Victoria union said there are a whole host of reasons why people don't get the vaccine.

Danny Hill told the ABC: "I don't think we can draw any conclusions from that number on its own just yet.

"That's an internal survey that was done within Ambulance Victoria and Ambulance Victoria are actually doing quite well in getting their staff vaccinated - they're up to around 80 per cent who have actually chosen to get the vaccine so far."

There is currently no mandate for paramedics in Victoria to be vaccinated against the coronavirus.

However, the Australian Medical Association has called on the the country to require mandatory vaccination for frontline medical staff.

AMA President Omar Khorshid said while the number of Victorian paramedics not getting vaccinated makes up less than 5 per cent of the total staff, that is still hundreds of workers putting their health and safety on the line.

He said this revelation highlights the need for a vaccine mandate.

"You've got to remember there's a difference between refusing to be vaccinated and not being vaccinated. There's a lot of people for whom it hasn't been convenient, they haven't had access to a vaccine or they're just a little hesitant," Dr Khorshid said to the ABC.

"So mandating vaccination for all healthcare workers will actually give that push to many healthcare workers including, hopefully, some of these 256 paramedics, to help get them over the line and help get them to do the right thing by their community.

"Paramedics are at the very front line of our healthcare system and it's critical that they are protected so that they're not going to contract this very serious disease in their workplace."

Featured Image Credit: Ambulance Victoria/Facebook

Topics: Australia

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie is a Trending Journalist at LADbible. His first job was as a newsreader and journalist at the award winning Sydney radio station, Macquarie Radio. He was solely responsible for the content broadcast on multiple stations across Australia when the MH17, Germanwings and AirAsia disasters unfolded. Stewart has covered the conflict in Syria for LADbible, interviewing a doctor on the front line, and has contributed to the hugely successful UOKM8 campaign.

@stewartperrie