Rodney Jones: Securing the Covid-19 weakness at the border by October

Getting vaccine doses into the arms of 1800-odd unvaccinated border workers is a top priority and should be done as quickly as possible, a leading public health expert says.But port bosses say the 11-week lead-in time for workers to get a single jab is necessary to limit workplace disruption, and even then exceptions may be needed to keep operations afloat if key workers - such as maritime pilots - still refuse to get vaccinated.Yesterday Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced a change to the Public Health Response (Vaccinations) Order so it would apply to more border workers.As of July 9, there are still 1766 border workers who are yet to have a single dose of the Pfizer vaccine - the majority of them port workers.As of July 9, there were 1766 active border workers who were unvaccinated. (Photo / Supplied)The expanded order will apply from Thursday, but the extra non-government border workers it captures - which make up most of the 1766 unvaccinated workers - won't need to get their first jab until September 30.Government workers newly captured by the order will need their first jab by August 26. Any new border worker will need to have had one jab before they can start work.It comes as the Government reopened quarantine-free flights to New Zealand from Queensland from 11.59pm last night, though anyone arriving without a negative pre-departure test will face a 14-day stay in MIQ - and a hefty bill.Only about 50 per cent of travellers are being checked for a pre-departure test, and so far more than 50 travellers have been caught without one.The pause on the transtasman bubble remains for New South Wales - which had 112 new cases yesterday.New Zealand citizens and residents are able to return home on green flights with a 14-day stay in MIQ, though flights for the next two weeks sold out within minutes.Ardern said the Government was still considering enforcement and privacy issues around making QR code scanning mandatory for bars and restaurants, and more widespread mask use at alert levels 2 and up.She said it was an "extraordinary" step to make vaccinations mandatory for privately-employed border workers - even though she had said in April that all border workers will need to be vaccinated or they would be redeployed.Otago University epidemiologist Professor Michael Baker said the unvaccinated worker gaps at the ports and airports should be plugged as quickly as possible."I'm sure there are logistical and other barriers to getting vaccinated, but we've got all of the infrastructure in place to administer the vaccine and track who needs it. The supplies are there. The staff to administer it are there."The unvaccinated workforce at the border was the weakest part of our Covid defences, he said, following the decision to reduce the number of travellers from high-risk countries."If you look at what happened in Taiwan, Sydney and Singapore, those were all problems around workers connected with borders, but not MIQ workers."Otago University epidemiologist Professor Michael Baker says unvaccinated border workers is currently the biggest weakness in New Zealand's Covid'19 response. (Photo / Supplied)Ardern said the long lead-in time would limit disruption at the ports."There may be people in key roles that this will affect that will have a significant knock-on effect, if that particular worker chooses not to be vaccinated."We have allow the time for those workforces to readjust, if that is what is required."Those key roles included maritime pilots, and specialised stevedore roles and crane operators, said Charles Finny, chair of the Port Company CEO Group, which represents 13 ports."It is very near impossible to recruit replacement staff in New Zealand in a hurry," Finny said."We don't want perverse outcomes here. We don't want the whole sector to shut down. We'll have to work...See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.