How the workers with the biggest exposure to Covid are not getting vaccinated

Check-in staff at hotels and airports, shop assistants, baggage handlers and taxi drivers are among those with the biggest risk of contracting Covid, new data reveals.

A survey of vaccination rates for key Australian industries has identified workers on the frontline who are most likely to be under 40 and not had any Covid jab yet.  

Around three-quarters of food and accommodation staff are under 40, as are almost two-thirds of store workers and four out ten taxi drivers.

But just one in 10 Australians under 40 has been able to get fully vaccinated, leaving 90 per cent at potentially increased risk of contracting and spreading the disease.

Check-in in staff at hotels and airports, shop assistants like the one pictured here, baggage handlers and taxi drivers are facing the biggest risk of contracting Covid, new data reveals (stock image)

A survey of vaccination rates for key Australian industries has identified workers on the frontline, like this Hobart Airport check-in worker, who are most likely to be under 40 and not had any Covid jab yet (stock image)

A survey of vaccination rates for key Australian industries has identified workers on the frontline, like this Hobart Airport check-in worker, who are most likely to be under 40 and not had any Covid jab yet (stock image)

Government figures say around 43 per cent of high-risk staff of all ages at aged care centres have now been fully vaccinated.

But for airport workers of all ages, that figure drops to just 33 per cent, with thousands more currently unable to easily get a jab because of their age.

‘Domestic aviation and airport staff are not currently on the vaccine priority list,’ Australian Airports Association Chief Executive James Goodwin told the Herald Sun. 

‘And those under 40 do not have access to the vaccine at all. This includes workers such as baggage handlers, security screeners, cleaners and terminal staff.

Around three-quarters of food and accommodation staff are under 40, like these Melbourne hotel check-in staff,  as are almost two-thirds of store workers and four out ten taxi drivers (stock image)

Around three-quarters of food and accommodation staff are under 40, like these Melbourne hotel check-in staff,  as are almost two-thirds of store workers and four out ten taxi drivers (stock image)

Just one in 10 Australian under 40 has been able to get fully vaccinated, leaving 90 per cent at risk. Seen here are medical staff in Melbourne preparing a Pfizer jab

Just one in 10 Australian under 40 has been able to get fully vaccinated, leaving 90 per cent at risk. Seen here are medical staff in Melbourne preparing a Pfizer jab 

‘[They are] at the forefront of exposure to passengers from all over the nation, including those flying in from Sydney and Melbourne hot spots.’

He added: ‘Governments must prioritise this essential workforce and provide access to the vaccine now. 

‘It should not be up to individual employees to try to get themselves vaccinated.’  

Workers in hotel quarantine are also still not a priority for vaccination yet, said Tourism Accommodation Australia NSW CEO Michael Johnson. 

‘They are in the front lines of the fight against this pandemic since it reached our shores,’ he said.

Just 33 per cent of airport workers of all ages have been fully vaccinated, with thousands more currently unable to easily get a jab because of their age. Seen here is Brisbane Airport (stock image)

Just 33 per cent of airport workers of all ages have been fully vaccinated, with thousands more currently unable to easily get a jab because of their age. Seen here is Brisbane Airport (stock image)

He called for a national rollout of vaccinations for all quarantine hotel works similar to the one introduced in NSW.   

It’s a similar story in other industries where the age of workers is likely to be more youthful.  

The government has so far prioritised older Australians in the vaccination rollout, and problems with Pfizer supplies, and conflicting medical advice over the AstraZeneca jab, has also severely limited accessed for those under 40.

Government data revealed just 10 percent of the population under 40 – mainly those aged between 25 and 39 – have now been fully vaccinated.

Government data revealed just 10 percent of the population under 40 - mainly those aged between 25 and 39 - have now been fully vaccinated (stock image)

Government data revealed just 10 percent of the population under 40 – mainly those aged between 25 and 39 – have now been fully vaccinated (stock image)

The government has so far prioritised older Australians in the vaccination rollout, and problems with Pfizer supplies, and conflicting medical advice over the AstraZeneca jab, has severely limited accessed for those under 40. Seen here is the queue for jabs at the vaccination hub in Homebush in Sydney

The government has so far prioritised older Australians in the vaccination rollout, and problems with Pfizer supplies, and conflicting medical advice over the AstraZeneca jab, has severely limited accessed for those under 40. Seen here is the queue for jabs at the vaccination hub in Homebush in Sydney

As a result, huge sections of the Australian workforce in a key demographic which regular face customers and the public are still unvaccinated.

The government data only breaks down the statistics by age, not occupation, so no specific figures exist for what proportion of the under 40s who are unvaccinated are teachers or pharmacists or similar.

But research by unions like the Transport Workers’ Union and Australian Nursing gave an insight into the scale of the problem among their members.

And combined with the overall split of workers under 40 in each profession group across Australia, seen in the box below, it reveals the huge potential covid exposure in the community.  

Huge sections of the Australian workforce in a key demographic who regularly face the public are still unvaccinated. Seen here is a young Melbourne florist at work while masked (stock image)

Huge sections of the Australian workforce in a key demographic who regularly face the public are still unvaccinated. Seen here is a young Melbourne florist at work while masked (stock image)

WORKERS UNDER 40 AT HIGHEST RISK OF CONTRACTING COVID

75 per cent of workforce in accommodation and food services  (661,5000 workers under 40 out of 887,600)

62 per cent: Retail trade  (807,800 of 1.23m)  

62 per cent: Arts and recreation  (157,800 of 254,400)

54 per cent: Building and construction (628,200 of 1.161m)     

51 per cent: Professional, scientific and technical services (630,800 of 1.235m) 

49 per cent: Information media and telecommunications  (89,700 of 181,900)   

48 per cent: Financial and insurance services  (89,700 of 181,900)   

47 per cent: Health care and social assistance (868,600 of 1.842m)   

46 per cent: Mining  (124,600  of 270,000)

45 per cent: Administrative and Support Services  (191,000  of 421,000)

44 per cent: Manufacturing (406,000 of 914,900)

43 per cent: Real estate, hiring and rental (91,200 of 211,200)

41 per cent: Education and training (474,000 of 1.15m)

41 per cent: Transport, postal and warehousing  (260,000 of 638,200)

41 per cent: Wholesale trade  (150,900 of 368,100)

39 per cent: Public administration and safety (341,500 of 866,200)

39 per cent: Gas, electricity, water and waste services (58,800 of 149,500)

30 per cent: Agriculture, forestry and fishing  (92,800  of 306,200)  

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