Government to consider reversing mandatory vaccines for healthcare workers
Government to consult on mandatory vaccinations for healthcare workers
02.02.22
The Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) has published a consultation on revoking its requirements for those working in health and social care to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as condition of their deployment, reversing the policy it announced in November.
Reasons for the government’s change of position include:
- Over 37 million boosters have been administered in the UK, providing a good level of protection across the country. This, coupled with the lower levels of hospitalisation and mortality, suggests the population is now better protected.
- Since the consultation on health and wider social care staff was announced in September, more than 127,000 NHS staff have come forward for a vaccine and 95% have now had at least one dose.
- Following the consultation on vaccines as a condition of deployment, uptake among care home staff rose from 77% to 94.5%, helping to build a wall of protection.
- The balance of opportunities and risks of the policy have now changed with the dominance of the COVID-19 Omicron variant. The booster rollout has been successful, and workforce challenges remain.
Ahead of the announcement, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, The Rt Hon Savid Javid MP, wrote to all regulators asking them to strengthen guidance and consult on updates to the DHSC’s Code of Practice for regulated providers in relation to COVID-19.
The proposed changes with be subject to the outcomes of the consultation, parliamentary approval and changes to current regulations.