Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has announced that every authorised worker must have their first Covid vaccination by October 15 to continue working.

“We have had overnight and again this morning, some very serious discussions at [National] Cabinet level. The public health team have provided us with some updated advice,” said Daniel Andrews in a press conference this morning.

Authorised workers have until November 26 to be fully vaccinated (which currently means two doses of an approved vaccine).

The groups of workers affected by the requirement include healthcare, construction, freight, aged care, and education.

“They’re not about stopping people from going to work, they’re about making sure that we can open up – they’re about making sure that people can go to work – that people can be safe and that we can defend and deliver our roadmap for opening,” added the premier.

Despite strict lockdowns, Victoria’s Covid case numbers continue to rise with 1,143 new cases.

That’s illegal ⬇️

This is how much your government cares about you - you can starve if you don’t follow what they want. pic.twitter.com/UFkvReMkfn

— ValGlass2.0 (@AussieVal10) October 1, 2021

The premier insisted that these steps were not taken lightly, but confirmed that every authorised worker on the authorised workers list in both Melbourne and regional Victoria will have to have the Covid vaccine if they want to continue working.

Those who refuse will lose their jobs.

Daniel Andrews framed the decision in relation to the strain placed on Victoria’s hospital system, which was already at breaking point before the pandemic.

According to the premier, his decision to mandate Covid vaccines concerns between 1 – 1.2 million Australian workers.

On the advice of the Acting Chief Health Officer, today we are making a number of changes to slow the spread of the virus, vaccinate more Victorians, and protect our health system. pic.twitter.com/BwAIBm8CvD

— Dan Andrews (@DanielAndrewsMP) October 1, 2021