In the current situation, front-line NHS workers in England must be fully vaccinated by the 1st of April, which means they would need to get the first dose by Thursday. If they refuse to comply by getting the jab by April, they will be dismissed or redeployed. Yet, around 77,000 NHS staff are unvaccinated.
Last week, Health Secretary Sajid Javid said the vaccine requirement was being „kept under review” but that it was the “duty of NHS staff to get vaccinated.”
The government has been under pressure from some within the health service to scrap the mandate, amid warnings that it would lead to an unprecedented staffing crisis.
The Royal College of Midwives warned the policy could have a „catastrophic impact” on maternity services, while the Royal College of GPs and Royal College of Nursing called for the deadline to be delayed. We have written more about it in our article “Get the jab or lose your job” – London hospitals risk losing thousands of staff members due to compulsory vaccination.
Protests against the policy have been held in several cities across the UK. The face of this wave of discontent is undoubtedly Dr Steve James, who first shared his critical views regarding the perspective of compulsory jabs directly with Health Secretary Sahid Javid while the latter was paying a visit to a hospital.
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Some NHS workers have said they are even considering moving to work abroad, where vaccination is not mandatory. What’s more, there is also a petition circulating online urging the government to abandon the implementation of the new regulation. So far, the petition gathered nearly 230,000 signatures.
There are no plans in Scotland and Wales to make Covid jabs mandatory for NHS workers or care home staff. In Northern Ireland, there will be a public consultation on the issue.
The latest figures show that almost 95% of NHS staff have had at least one Covid jab, leaving about 77,000 who have not done so.
Photos: British Poles
Author: Sebastien Meuwissen
