Port workers should be given subsidised breaks to ensure they get the Covid-19 shot, as access is proving a bigger issue than refusals, the Maritime Union's boss says. Many high-risk port staff like stevedores and marine technicians have been eligible to receive the vaccine since February, when a roll-out targeting border workers began. Otago University epidemiologist Professor Nick Wilson felt that, while vaccination shouldn't be made mandatory among port workers, the sea border still posed a Covid-19 risk. It wasn't clear how many of these port workers have received vaccinations, as the information is confidentially held by the Ministry of Health. Harrison, however, saw an urgent need to get the vaccine to those port workers who hadn't been able to get it.

Source: New Zealand Herald May 09, 2021 17:03 UTC