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Newy village among first retirement group to introduce compulsory vaccine policy

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A Newcastle retirement village is among the first in the country to formally request its employees be vaccinated against COVID-19.

Aveo Group has taken the stance in what it says is a bid to protect the most vulnerable in the community, and employees from the virus.

All current Aveo employees are expected to have received their first vaccination by 1 November and their follow up vaccination by no later than 15 December. 

All new starters joining the business going forward will need to be fully-vaccinated before beginning work.

As a next step, Aveo intends to formalise a policy requiring all employees, contractors and service providers to be fully-vaccinated against COVID-19 unless they have a valid medical exemption.

Aveo CEO Tony Randello said more needs to be done in the retirement living industry to protect residents and workers from the virus.

“The average age of residents in our communities is around 82 years and many of them are among the most vulnerable to COVID-19,” he said.

“Aveo wants to do all it can to provide a safe living and working environment for valued residents who call our communities home, and our employees, which is why we have taken this step.

“Clinical studies have shown that vaccination saves lives and prevents serious illness, hospitalisation and death. 

“In terms of slowing the spread of the virus, the mandatory vaccination of staff in residential aged care has proven effective in considerably reducing the COVID-19 infection rate in the aged care sector.

“We surveyed our people and 83% of respondents expressed a preference for working only with others who are vaccinated, and 90% had already had at least one dose of the vaccine. 

“Aveo has received direct feedback from residents and resident committees in our communities, telling us that they expect all employees with whom they interact to be vaccinated.

“The government has mandated vaccinations for aged care workers but has yet to apply this to the retirement living sector.

“Unfortunately, we don’t believe we can wait any longer for government-mandated vaccinations for retirement living as COVID-19 cases are expected to significantly increase as the states look to reopen. For this reason, we have decided to take immediate action.”

Aveo says it will consult with its employees to work through any concerns they have and to identify employees who are unable to be vaccinated due to a valid medical exemption. 

For those with a medical exemption, Aveo is committed to working with them to find a way for them to work safely.

Employees in Aveo’s four residential aged care facilities are already fully-vaccinated under public health mandates.

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