New Zealand doctors and teachers to be vaccinated soon

COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said many in these professions have already received their vaccines, but they cannot leave anything to chance, especially because these people are caring for sick patients and young children who are not yet approved for the vaccine themselves.

“It’s not an easy decision, but we need people who work with vulnerable communities who have not yet been vaccinated to take that extra step,” said Hipkins.

New Zealand already requires many people working at the border to get vaccinated.

The announcement comes as New Zealand battles an outbreak of the highly transmissible delta variant in its largest city, Auckland.

Early responses from groups representing affected workers were in favor of the mandate.

“Considering the speed at which the delta is spreading across our country, this is a bold but necessary call,” said Dr Samantha Murton, president of the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Monday that Auckland would remain stranded for at least a week, while neighboring areas of Waikato and Northland could emerge from the lock on Thursday if no significant spread of the virus is detected in those locations.

Auckland has been on lockdown for almost two months since the outbreak was discovered. Thirty-five new local cases were discovered in the city on Monday, bringing the total number of cases of the epidemic to just over 1,600.

Last week, Ardern acknowledged that the virus was in New Zealand to stay and that it would not be completely wiped out through measures such as lockdowns and contact tracing, which had succeeded in eliminating previous outbreaks.