Australia's peak meat industry body is calling for packing and processing workers to have priority access to COVID-19 vaccine booster shots.
The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) yesterday approved booster doses of the Pfizer vaccine for people aged 18 and older six months after their second dose.
Meatworkers were eligible to receive their first dose in March under Phase 1B of Australia's vaccination rollout, and the Australian Meat Industry Council wants these workers at the front of the queue for their third jab.
"We will be in no doubt encouraging members and employees to be getting those booster shots," chief executive Patrick Hutchinson said.
"We do the same thing with [diseases] like Q fever, just like all other health and safety issues, and I think we need to start looking at it from that point of view now.
"If [the national rollout] had been followed by state governments, our workforce would have been vaccinated [earlier], just after health and emergency services personnel, we were the next industry nominated."
Keeping supermarkets stocked
Mr Hutchinson said the high rate of community vaccination gave him hope there would be no further long-term facility shutdowns.
The easing of workforce capacity limits earlier in October were necessary to process an influx of spring lamb, he said.
"Unfortunately in Victoria in 2020 and this year, the lockdowns and workforce restrictions have happened simultaneously with the spring lamb flush, which has a huge impact on farmers.
"Half of all lamb farmers in Australia have their livestock processed in Victoria.
"We work and invest millions into making sure the supply chains remain open."
COVID compliance expert Gavin Altus agreed that without booster shots for meatworkers, there would be continued restrictions or shutdowns in the meat supply chain.
"It's a high risk that we won't have lamb on the barbecue on Australia Day because of the stringent shutdowns," he said.
"We need to do everything we can to support the workforce, and there are many people employed in abattoirs and other associated industries."
'Stacks of investment'
As the head of compliance managers Sentrient, Mr Altus works with small and medium meat-packing and processing businesses in regional Victoria to help them navigate COVID regulations.
"These organisations are some of the most sophisticated when it comes to health and safety regimes," he said.
"But in addition to that, HR practices and record-keeping has just gone the next level up, so it's just created a whole lot more noise and risk to the health work and safety agenda."
The meat industry had gone beyond government requirements, Mr Altus said, by investing in technology to track and trace workers who were exposed to COVID.
"There has been improvement to software to specifically record vaccination status, and even record everything from a staff member who may have been in a hot spot or been in contact with a positive case.
"[Managers and chief executives] can know exactly what's going on in the organisation so that in the event there was a situation, there is clear documentation of what steps have been taken."
