Five Good Friends Helpers are magic. The help and support Helpers provide to our Members makes a difference to their lives and the lives of their loved ones.

We understand that while the Covid-19 pandemic has been difficult for our Members, it has also been an uncertain and unprecedented time for Helpers.

Five Good Friends strongly encourage and support vaccination. This includes vaccination against Influenza and COVID-19.

Since vaccines for COVID-19 have become available Five Good Friends has been urging all Helpers, staff, Members and their loved ones, to get vaccinated.

To ensure that Helpers have the support they need during this time, we are regularly communicating with them.

The need and urgency to be vaccinated is increasing

The message is clear – we need to get vaccinated. The recent Delta outbreaks in Sydney have shown how quickly the situation and regulations can change.

As of Monday August 30th Helpers who live or work in the affected Sydney LGA’s are required by the Government to have had at least one vaccination. Without evidence of vaccination Helpers who live or work in these areas will be unable to continue supporting and helping their Members.

We do not want to see these regulations affect any Helpers or Members unduly. Similar changes could be introduced in other locations and States. The best way to prepare is to get vaccinated.

Five Good Friends verifies Covid 19 immunisation

It is an ongoing requirement that Five Good Friends report to the Commonwealth Government the numbers of vaccinated Helpers and staff.

We are working with all our Helpers to ensure they send us a copy of their Immunisation History Statement to verify that they have received the vaccination.

We are seeing an increase in Members and their loved ones requesting Helpers and Five Good Friends staff who are vaccinated against COVID-19.

We support this. Matching Helpers to Members is an important aspect of the service and why many families choose Five Good Friends.

When a Helpers Immunisation History Statement, a COVID-19 badge will be added to the profile. This provides our Members and their families reassurance and will allow Five Good Friends to confidently match you to people who want vaccinated Helpers in their home.

Resources and Support for Helpers

Following are the resources and support we are offering to assist all Helpers to receive a COVID-19 vaccination.

1. Helping Helpers organise time for vaccination

We understand vaccines have been in short supply in the community. This has made booking a time for vaccination difficult. This is changing. We have been supporting Helpers receive a vaccination by assisting with updating visit times and contacting Members to ensure they understand why changes to their schedule may be require

2. Letter to support vaccination

Since March, we have been providing Helpers on the Five Good Friends platform a letter confirming the important role they play in the community and their eligibility for vaccination.

3. Education and information

From the beginning of the pandemic, we have been working hard to regularly provide clear, credible and objective information from peak health, scientific and Government bodies. We have also been aware of the growing misinformation in the community.

To address this we recently ran a webinar with Dr Paul Griffin, Head of Infectious Diseases at the Mater Hospital. Dr Griffin is one of the country’s leading experts on COVID-19 and Vaccination. We provided a link to all Helpers to encourage them to watch it. You can watch the webinar here.

4. COVID-19 Safe Work Practices

We are conscious that Government guidelines and restrictions to help manage COVID-19 are changing regularly and are doing our best to keep Helpers informed. Our COVID-19 Safe Work Practices are available on the Helper Hub and contains key resources including a link to our Standard Operating Procedure, which is regularly updated in line with changes made by Commonwealth and State Governments.

We have also recently spoken with some Helpers who have been vaccinated. They explain why they made this important decision. You can read their thoughts and reasons here.

Our strong belief is that helping vaccination is the most important thing we can do for our Helpers, Members, staff and the community. Stay safe.