The government’s stipulation that anyone providing a health service in close contact with the public be fully vaccinated is being welcomed by eyecare professionals as another step to control the virus, protect colleagues, their families and the wider community, and return to some semblance of business normality.
“Overall, the New Zealand Association of Optometrists (NZAO) is supportive of the requirement,” said Rochelle van Eysden, Christchurch-based practice owner and president of the NZAO. “We acknowledge that making the vaccination mandatory will be causing significant concern and stress to some of our members and their staff, however, we feel that this decision is made to protect the public and is not taken lightly.”
The government’s amendment to the existing Covid-19 Public Health Response Order was announced on 11 October, stipulating that all roles undertaken by those “in frequent contact, face-to-face contact, or in close proximity to healthcare workers providing a health service” and “work where a health service is being provided” should be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 by 1 December 2021 and receive their first dose by 30 October.
Wellington-based practice owner and Optometrists and Dispensing Opticians Board (ODOB) chair Jayesh Chouhan said, “The board is supportive of this requirement as it helps to protect the health and safety of the public as well as providing a mechanism that enables safe practice for practitioners. Vaccination remains our strongest and most effective tool to protect against infection and disease.” As a practice owner, Chouhan also said he welcomed the news. “Anything I can do to provide a safe environment for my staff and patients can only be a good thing. It will give confidence and remove uncertainty for my patients knowing that my practice has reduced Covid-19 risk.”
Any NZAO member who has concerns can seek advice from the NZAO on the potential ramifications of not being vaccinated, said van Eysden. “Members may also wish to consider that their vaccination status might also affect service provision rules for Enable NZ, DHB or MSD and other government contracts. Other than where extenuating medical circumstances exist, our advice to members is to get vaccinated if you have not done so already.” Speaking as an individual practice owner, van Eysden also said she personally welcomed mandatory vaccination. “It takes the onus off me as an employer to require my staff to be vaccinated. I would hate for a Covid-19 cluster to originate from my practice and, given the high proportion of vulnerable patients I see each week, this gives a layer of protection for all of us.”
