SA Health announced the new policy after midday on Friday, saying it followed consultation with staff and “recognition of the changing environment around COVID-19 immunity in the community”.

It said that Category A and B workers had been required to have at least two doses of a COVID-19 vaccination from October 2021.

This included all medical practitioners, emergency personnel, dentists, allied health practitioners, and social workers.

SA Health said that around 245 permanent employees had their employment terminated after refusing to become vaccinated under the policy.

Health and Wellbeing Department CEO Robyn Lawrence defended the previous policy but said in a statement today that circumstances had now changed.

“It was the right policy decision to do everything we could to limit the impacts of COVID-19 by requiring staff to vaccinate,” Lawrence said.

“Now we have high community immunity to COVID-19 and we have consulted extensively with our health workforce. It’s the right time to update our policy to reflect the change in circumstances.”

Lawrence said the department still recommended staff be vaccinated.

The requirements have been the subject of controversy in recent years, with South Australia’s Emergency Management Council having met in 2022 to discuss a potential end to the mandates.

There have been 284 new cases of COVID-19 reported in South Australia in the past week.