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

Early Edition with Ryan Bridge · Jul 12, 2021 · 5m

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…