Health Secretary Sajid Javid said he stands by his decision to make Covid jabs mandatory in the social care sector back in November as it was ‘the needed at the time’.
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Sajid Javid announces u-turn on mandatory NHS vaccines
Mandatory Covid jabs will be ditched for NHS and care staff, Health Secretary Sajid Javid has confirmed.
The rule was set to be enforced from April, which meant if staff hadn’t had their first dose by this Friday they would not be double vaccinated in time.
Earlier Downing Street said Boris Johnson and Mr Javid were reflecting on the policy as it was introduced when the Delta variant was the dominant strain.
Tonight, Mr Javid told the Commons: “Given the Delta has been replaced it’s only right that our policy on vaccination as a condition of deployment is reviewed.”
Omicron is less dangerous than Delta. It is also more transmissible, meaning the vaccine has less of an effect on whether sufferers pass the virus to others.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid has confirmed plans to scrap mandatory vaccines for NHS staff
Mr Javid added: “I believe it is no longer proportionate to require vaccination as a condition of employment through statute.
“So today, I am announcing we will launch a consultation on ending vaccination as a condition of deployment in health and all social care settings.
“Subject to the responses, and the will of this House, the government will revoke the regulations.”
Senior NHS sources were said to have been worried about the mandatory policy given some regions across the UK had a very low vaccine uptake.
Data shows English regions including London, Leeds, Manchester and Birmingham are lagging behind in vaccinations, compared to the rest of the country.
In London, just 69% of Brits have had their first dose of the Covid jab with 44% having had their booster dose.
Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting urged Sajid Javid to continue working on vaccine hesitancy
And the latest figures from NHS England show that 127,515 NHS and domiciliary care staff working in registered settings had not had a first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine as of January 23.
Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting said he welcomes Mr Javid’s announcement but called on him to continue his efforts to improve vaccine hesitancy.
Former Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt expressed his fears with the removal of the policy.
Mr Hunt told the Commons: “Frontline workers have done an extraordinary job in this pandemic but I have yet to meet a single one that believes that anyone in contact with patients has a right to put them to increased risk by not having a vaccine unless there is a medical exemption.”
Within this sector the policy was introduced back in November, and around 40,000 people lost their jobs.
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https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/breaking-mandatory-covid-vaccines-axed-26100677
