Friday, March 29, 2024

England to set April deadline for health workers to get COVID-19 jab

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London – It will become compulsory for frontline National Health Service (NHS) staff in England to be fully vaccinated against novel coronavirus (COVID-19), the health secretary has confirmed.

Sajid Javid told MPs that he expected to set a deadline for the beginning of April to give 103 000 unvaccinated workers time to get both jabs.

But the union Unison said staff should not be forced to have the vaccine.

And the shadow health secretary warned it could mean many leave the NHS – adding to staffing issues.

The government’s decision follows a consultation which considered whether both the COVID-19 and flu jabs should be compulsory.

Javid said the flu vaccine would not be made mandatory.

Those with a medical reason not to have the COVID-19 jab would be exempt, he said, as would those who do not have face-to-face contact with patients.

In a Commons statement, Javid said compulsory vaccination would “protect patients in the NHS, protect colleagues in the NHS and, of course, protect the NHS itself”.

He said the requirement would be enforced 12 weeks after parliamentary approval – likely to be from April.

No unvaccinated worker should be “scapegoated or shamed”, said Javid, and should instead be supported to make “a positive choice”.

Thursday is the deadline for care home workers in England to get vaccinated.

Each of the four United Kingdom nations makes its own decisions on the issue.

Scotland and Wales have not made any proposals to make COVID-19 jabs compulsory for NHS workers or care home staff, while in Northern Ireland there is to be a public consultation.

Chris Hopson, chief executive of NHS Providers which represents England’s NHS trusts, said: “We understand why people are vaccine-hesitant. We need to win the argument with them rather than beat them around the head.”

The possibility of losing staff was a “real problem” as the NHS runs on fine margins and already relies on staff to work extra shifts, he added.

Labour’s shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth urged Javid to proceed with caution – pointing to waiting lists “close to six million” and more than 90 000 job vacancies across the NHS.

There will be anxiety that chronic understaffing problems could be exacerbated, he said. “We simply cannot afford to lose thousands of NHS staff overnight.” (BBC)

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