An endless loop Foreign students in food delivery hospitality battling to get jab

Young foreign workers desperate to get vaccinated with AstraZeneca say confused Victorian and federal government advice is making it far too complicated for those in high-risk industries such as hospitality to get the jab.

Rideshare drivers were in May added to Victoria’s list of priority vaccination groups, but other public-facing jobs often done by those on temporary visas â€" such as hospitality, cleaning and food delivery â€" are left out.

There are more than 1.6 million temporary visa holders in Australia, according to Home Affairs data released in June. Nearly half a million of those are students or former students.

Brazilian Henry Macedo wanted to get vaccinated with AstraZeneca as soon as possible but says there are too many barriers in the way for visa holders.Credit:Justin McManus

The national body for international students has called for immediate clarification on how temporary visa holders can get vaccinated after the death of Adriana Midori Takara, a 38-year-old Brazilian international student and part-time cleaner in NSW last week.

Henry Macedo, a 31-year-old Brazilian student, who has lived in Melbourne for four years, spent three days trying to get vaccinated.

Mr Macedo, who works behind the bar at the MCG, decided he was willing to get the AstraZeneca vaccine after his workplace became a major exposure site in the most recent Melbourne lockdown.

“In my country in Brazil, hundreds of thousands of people died and they are taking any vaccine available,” he said. “My parents got AstraZeneca, my sister got the Chinese made vaccine and everyone is fine.”

But he soon stumbled into a confusing web of conflicting advice on how he, as someone without a Medicare card, could get vaccinated.

First he called the Victorian coronavirus hotline, which told him he was eligible to get a vaccine at a state hub because he lived in a high-density building.

He booked the appointment online, but when he turned up to the Royal Exhibition Building he was turned him away after being told his apartment building didn’t qualify.

He called the Victorian coronavirus hotline again, and was told he was not eligible for any vaccine anywhere because of his age.

Mr Macedo then called his private health insurance provider (which is mandatory for many visas), which advised him to speak to one of their recommended GPs about getting the vaccine. The doctor was happy to give him the authorisation to get AstraZeneca, but their clinic didn’t have COVID-19 vaccines.

On his insurance provider’s advice, Mr Macedo then went onto the online booking platform HotDoc and made a list of all nearby clinics that offered the AstraZeneca vaccine, and began three days of cold calling.

“Two clinics said no because I didn’t have Medicare, and another clinic told me they are not giving AstraZeneca to anyone younger than 60,” he said.

Yet another clinic wanted to charge him $160 in consultation fees to give him the vaccine â€" even though he had already consulted with a GP and had written permission to get the vaccine. He eventually settled on a private clinic that agreed to take his booking for a cost of $39 which would be reimbursed by his insurance â€" after he talked them out of the $80 consultation fee.

“On a scale of one to 10, the struggle was definitely a 10, it’s definitely not easy,” he said.

A spokesperson for the Royal Australian College of GPs said visa holders can get a COVID vaccine at GP clinics and doctors need to do it for free.

But the Victorian Department of Health contradicted that advice, saying GP clinics could only vaccinate people with a Medicare card.

A spokesman said people who are not eligible for Medicare could to apply for an Individual Healthcare Identifier (which takes two to three weeks to arrive) before attending one of 27 Commonwealth COVID-19 Vaccination Clinics across Victoria with proof of their application.

But those clinics won’t give AstraZeneca to anyone under 40, according to Katie Cover, another 39-year-old visa-holder in Melbourne. She has contacted all the Victorian clinics listed to no avail, and a month later is still unvaccinated.

“It’s just an endless loop going back and forth,” she said.

Belle Lim, the president of the Council of International Students Australia, says visa holders have been overlooked throughout the pandemic.Credit:Luis Ascui

Belle Lim, President of the Council of International Students Australia, said state and federal governments needed to overhaul the vaccine pathways for temporary visa holders immediately.

“A lot of students work part-time in hospitality or at supermarkets and they are the people you want vaccinated,” she said.

“The tragedy of an international student passing is a really stark reminder for us about how neglected our community has been throughout the whole pandemic and now with the vaccination rollout.”

Brazilian student and part-time cleaner Ms Takara had tried “multiple times” to book a vaccine before she died of COVID-19, but was told there were no available appointments until October, according to The Daily Telegraph. It is not known whether she tried to get AstraZeneca.

Since her death, Sydney vaccination hubs and pharmacies have begun offering AstraZeneca to all Sydney residents under 40.

Health Minister Greg Hunt was approached for a response.

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Rachael Dexter is a reporter for the Sunday Age.

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