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Why the RACGP supports mandatory vaccination for healthcare workers
The college’s stand is about showing leadership and protecting patients, practice staff and the wider community, President Dr Karen Price writes.
The RACGP supports mandatory COVID-19 vaccination for healthcare workers, including GPs.
Earlier this week, the RACGP released a position statement in support of mandatory vaccination for healthcare workers, including GPs.
It is not a stance we have taken lightly, nor are we shying away from the broader implications this position could have for some people. We know members of the community – including within the college – do not believe in mandatory vaccination, even for a disease as infectious and deadly as COVID-19.
However, as doctors our most essential responsibility is the health of our patients. We cannot be instruments of harm and, as such, we have a duty of care to protect people through any and every means at our disposal – especially when we have access to proven, safe and effective vaccines amid a deadly pandemic.
The ongoing and increasingly serious Delta outbreaks occurring in New South Wales and Victoria show that COVID is here to stay. And through our role at the coalface of Australian healthcare, it is only a matter of time before each and every one of us is exposed to the virus.
Despite our best efforts to triage effectively, don appropriate PPE and employ other mitigation strategies such as air filtration and social distancing, a substantial number of general practices have become exposure sites – particularly in this latest wave.
Aside from protecting patients, we also have a responsibility to protect ourselves and our staff. We know healthcare workers are vulnerable to infection, and we also know that literally hundreds of thousands of our colleagues have lost our lives globally fighting this serious disease.
We are fortunate that this is a tragedy we can avoid in Australian general practice, provided we take responsible action now to ensure we are doing all that we can to protect ourselves.
As many of us will know, it is not unusual for doctors to have our vaccination status scrutinised. Even prior to COVID, GPs, nurses, medical students and other doctors would often have to have it checked for serious communicable diseases like measles, polio, hepatitis B, TB, and whooping cough.
We accept this as part of the job and, in this context, the only difference between a disease like measles and COVID is that COVID is vastly more deadly; in the decade before the first measles vaccine was developed in 1963, 3–4 million people were infected in the US each year and an estimated 400–500 people died. In contrast, 1871 people died of COVID in that country yesterday.
Speaking personally, I simply cannot fathom how a healthcare worker – a person who has dedicated their life to protecting and helping patients – could argue that their right to remain unvaccinated is more important than the health and safety of vulnerable patients who could potentially die as a result of their decision.
Perhaps there is still misinformation or fear operating there and I would advise them to only seek information from high quality, evidence-based peer reviewed medical sources like the RACGP, Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) or the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA).
There is no conspiracy.
However, the RACGP also recognises there are exceptions to every rule and a small percentage of us may have valid health reasons that mean they cannot be vaccinated. Unfortunately, I think these people will have to consider redeployment to non-patient-facing roles if they want to remain in healthcare.
This is an issue the wider health system is going to have to grapple with, but it is a difficult discussion that will need to be had for the sake of our patients and society as a whole.
As President of the RACGP, I am proud of the leadership we have demonstrated in this space.
Some will call it controversial or brave which are judgements, opinions or politics. In reality, it is an evidence-based science-led decision with ethical considerations on patient safety.
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