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NHS workers could be forced to take hits from Covid under the plans ministers are discussing.
The Mail may reveal that a vaccine passport review will consider whether healthcare personnel who refuse an injection might be legally bound to do so.
The review is also expected to look at whether the obligation should apply to nursing home staff, most of whom are not state employees.
The ministers believe that the measure could reduce the number of deaths from viruses and limit delays in easing the blockade.
However, there are significant legal and moral issues, as well as uncertainty about what might happen to those who still refuse to get vaccinated.
So far, 200,000 NHS and care workers have turned down the offer of a jab, despite working closely with the vulnerable.
“It is extraordinary that so many people in the health sector seem to have rejected the vaccine,” a Cabinet source told the Mail.
The Mail may reveal that a vaccine passport review will consider whether healthcare personnel who refuse an injection might be legally bound to do so. Pictured: A library image of a vaccinator giving the injection to a patient in Darlington
The ministers believe that the measure could reduce the number of deaths from viruses and limit delays in easing the blockade. In the photo: Prime Minister Boris Johnson at a vaccination center on Monday
“It seems incredible that anyone who works in that environment can take credit for the rubbish that anti-vaccines throw out. But we have to vaccinate those people. ‘
An NHS England spokesperson said last night that many trusts were reporting that nine out of ten employees had been hit.
But ministers are eager to see the rate get as close to 100 percent as possible because of the serious risks posed by hospital-acquired infections.
Official figures from last week revealed that 28 percent of nursing home staff had not yet been vaccinated.
Downing Street confirmed last night that the issue was being discussed as part of a review led by Michael Gove on ‘Covid status certification’, also known as vaccine passports.
Hancock yesterday appeared to indicate that some kind of vaccine certificate would be introduced, telling MPs that it was “clear that we will have to provide people with the ability to certify whether they have received the vaccine.”
He said ministers’ would absolutely have to take into account those who have a certified clinical reason why they cannot receive the jab, which applies to a relatively small number of people, but is an important consideration that will be taken forward as part. of that job. ‘
The NHS and care staff were given top priority for the jab, and offers were released to frontline workers starting in December.
But a persistent minority has so far rejected all offers and encouragement.
The review will need to consider what penalties healthcare workers face if they refuse to have a compulsory job.
Layoffs could be a recipe for industrial unrest, but staff could be pushed away from front-line tasks or required to wear additional PPE.
Analysis by the Health Service Journal found that, in January, an average of more than 450 cases of Covid were probably acquired in hospitals a day.
Hospital infections have also been a leading cause of staff illness, putting pressure on the overburdened NHS. The situation in nursing homes is believed to have been at least as acute.
Care UK, which operates 120 homes, said last week that it will only accept staff who have been vaccinated.
A spokesperson said: “Everyone applying for a position that requires them to go to a house is expected to have been vaccinated before starting work.”
Chris Whitty, England’s chief medical officer, said last month that NHS staff had a “professional responsibility” to take a hit.
NHS England said last night that the vast majority of staff were vaccinated and urged the rest to come forward.
A spokesperson added: “ While it is up to the government and parliament to decide which groups of people should receive the vaccine, the NHS National Medical Director and Head Nurse agree with Chris Whitty, with the BMA President and other leaders. professionals that NHS staff have a duty to get vaccinated unless they have a valid clinical reason for not doing so ».
Gove’s review will be released before the final stage of the roadmap out of the lockdown on June 21.
It will examine whether there should be a system that allows people to access services based on their Covid vaccination or testing status.
A government spokesperson has acknowledged that any form of scheme would raise significant ethical, equality, privacy, legal and operational issues.
