Mandatory Vaccinations for Education Workforce

The New Zealand Government announced mandatory vaccinations for the education workforce. For more information on the vaccine, visit the Unite Against COVID-19 website.

Key Details

• School and early learning staff and support people who have contact with children and students need to be fully vaccinated by 1 January 2022 and receive their first dose by 15 November 2021.
• All school employees in Auckland other Alert Level 3 regions require a negative COVID-19 test result by 26 October 2021 before returning to work onsite.
• Staff who are not fully vaccinated in the period leading up to 1 January 2022 will be required to undergo weekly COVID-19 testing.
• Vaccinations are free to the public.
• Schools will be required to maintain a register of the vaccination status of their staff. Secondary schools will need to keep a vaccination register for students.

Vaccine science webinars with Dr Michelle ‘Nanogirl’ Dickinson

The Ministry of Education is partnering with Nanogirl Labs to deliver a series of webinars on vaccine science for teachers. The aim is to support the education workforce to get answers to vaccine questions from a trusted source of information. Register your interest here.

Response from ANZUK Education

We support the education sector vaccine mandate and encourage all educators we work with to get vaccinated as soon as possible.

We know that vaccines are safe and effective, and a high rate of vaccinations will help to protect staff and students from getting sick and passing COVID-19 onto others. We encourage all school leaders and staff to continue to promote the need for vaccinations. In addition, we are working on our internal system to manage these new requirements.

Amy Whiting, Chief Executive