Time off work will be justified when the worker needs to apply the COVID-19 vaccine

As happened with people who are part of the group at risk in the context of the pandemic, the government has made it clear that any employee can take time off from work on the day they need to be vaccinated. The measure was announced by the Resolution 92/2021, published this Friday in the Official Bulletin.

The document, signed by the Minister of Labor, Employment and Social Security, Claudio Moroni, details the procedure to follow in this type of case. He did this in the middle of the vaccination campaign that is advancing as the different doses arrive in the country.

The first article of this standard established that “The absence of the worker will be justified during the working day which coincides with the day of the application of the vaccine intended to generate acquired immunity against COVID-19, without causing the loss or reduction of wages, salaries or rewards for this concept ”.

In addition, the national authorities clarified that it will suffice to present “the proof of application” to prove the reasons for the absence, provided that you have “the employer’s prior authorization”.

According to official data, the total amount of doses distributed to date was 1,703,615, out of the total 1,800,000 vaccines that arrived in the five shipments that arrived in the country.Four of Sputnik V totaling 1,220,000 and one in 580,000 from AstraZeneca / Oxford’s Covishield vaccine made in India, which also requires two applications, albeit from the same component.

Of the 780,455 doses applied to date (between the first and second), 92.11% were intended for healthcare workers (718,863 doses), while the rest went to people over 60 and to “Strategic personnel”, composed of members of security forces and armed forces, teachers and non-teaching staff at all levels of education responsible for the functioning of the State and the staff of the Prison Service.

With the arrival of the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine in Argentina, and a few days after the start of classes in most of the country, health authorities have started to vaccinate teachers, although the plan in this case contemplates following a schedule based on five priority groups:

1) In the first group will be the leadership and management staff, supervisory and inspection staff, teachers in front of initial level students (includes the maternal cycle), the first cycle of elementary school, (1st, 2nd and 3rd year) and those of special education. Amount: 457,694.

2) The second group includes pedagogical support staff, all other staff without teaching appointment but working in educational institutions compulsory education in various fields and services. Amount: 247,413.

3) In the third will be the teachers in front of elementary school students, cycle two from grades 4 to 6/7. Amount: 148,692.

4) The fourth group will be composed of teachers in front of high school students, continuing training for young people and adults of all levels and professional trainers. Amount: 331,099.

5) Finally, in the last group will be the teachers and non-teachers from higher education institutions and universities. Amount: 273,185.

What are the first 6 steps of the plan

1) Health personnel (scaling according to activity risk).

2) Adults over the age of 70 and residents of city nursing homes or homes for the aged. A sub-step is implemented which begins with the over 80s.

3) Adults aged 60 to 69.

4) Strategic personnel.

5) People aged 18 to 59 with risk factors: diabetes (insulin-dependent and non-insulin-dependent), grade 2 and 3 obesity, cardiovascular, renal and / or chronic respiratory diseases.

6) Other strategic groups defined by the jurisdictions according to the availability of doses.

Among the considerations of the resolution published on Friday, the government indicated that “The development and deployment of a safe and effective vaccine to prevent COVID-19 is essential to control the development of the disease, either reduce morbidity and mortality or the transmission of the virus ”.

In addition, it was noted that< l'État national encourage l'application >> of these doses, provided they are< recommandées par l'autorité sanitaire >>, it was therefore “necessary to justify the absence from work of workers who take turns to vaccinate without this leading to a loss or reduction in wages and / or rewards for presenteeism”.

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