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Cars pass under a British National Health Service (NHS) tribute as part of the Illuminations in Blackpool, Britain on September 5, 2020. [Photo/Agencies]
British Health Secretary Sajid Javid has been warned that his plans to make COVID-19 vaccines mandatory for all workers in the National Health Service, or NHS, could trigger a mass exodus of staff.
The proposal to impose the vaccine on all health workers was first reported by the Daily Telegraph in May, when government ministers said the policy would “save lives” by reducing the spread of the virus. in the hospital.
The newspaper reported on Sunday that an official consultation on COVID-19 vaccines becoming a condition of employment by health services will be launched as early as this week.
NHS data shows 190,000 healthcare workers missed a dose of the vaccine as of April, and the Telegraph said there were as many as one in four in some hospitals. He noted that a Facebook group, called “NHS Workers for Choice, No Restrictions to Refuse Vaccine” had nearly 2,600 members.
The nursing home sector is suffering from its worst staffing shortage, in part due to mandatory vaccines, ITV News reported last week. The government said all nursing home workers, including agency workers, volunteers and health visitors, must have received their first vaccine by September 16 and be fully immunized by November 11.
The Telegraph said some experts believe the policy could cause up to 7% of nursing home staff to quit or be fired. The government’s own data predicts that up to 40,000 of the more than half a million caregivers will not be fully immunized by November 11.
The Independent newspaper noted that health and public sector union Unison this week called on the government to drop the “no jab, no job” policy, telling ministers they “were heading for disaster.” Unison warned that the care sector already had more than 110,000 vacant positions.
The Guardian reported that care home staff were leaving for higher paying jobs, including in Amazon warehouses.
A spokesperson for the Department of Health said: ‘NHS staff have a duty of care to those most vulnerable to COVID-19 and we are encouraging all frontline staff to come forward for the jab.
“Ensuring the NHS is well staffed is a top priority for this government and we will continue to work with employers to ensure they have the right number of employees to meet growing demand. “
British media reported on Sunday that vaccines would soon be offered to children between the ages of 12 and 15, despite the Independent Joint Commission for Vaccination and Immunization advising the government against the move, saying the virus posed a risk if low for people in this age group.
Sky News reported that the UK’s four chief medical officers, including England’s Chris Whitty, have been asked to make a final recommendation.
Government Vaccines Minister Nadhim Zahawi has confirmed that vaccine passports will be required to enter large sites. He told Sky News the documents were the best way to avoid winter shutdowns due to groups of people mingling nearby.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced in July that the requirement would likely be imposed on large venues after making it mandatory for all nightclubs in England by the end of this month.
However, many Conservative Party politicians are strongly opposed to the use of the documents, and the government is likely to face allegations that an effective mandatory vaccination policy is “discriminatory.”
Meanwhile, former British Labor Prime Minister Gordon Brown called on G7 countries to urgently create a plan to deliver COVID-19 vaccines to the developing world. He urged Johnson to call a G7 summit within the next two weeks.
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