‘No jab, no job’ plan for NHS is sinister, says union leader
PROPOSALS to force NHS staff to receive jabs have triggered tensions within government, and been branded “sinister” by unions.
A review of vaccine passports, which is due to issue its report in June, is considering whether health workers who decline an injection could be legally obliged to have one.
It is also expected to look at whether an obligation to be vaccinated should apply to care home staff, most of whom are not employed by the state.
Some care home providers have already said they will not employ those who refuse the jab.
Around nine in 10 NHS front-line staff have been vaccinated.
But ministers are keen to see the rate get as close to 100 per cent as possible to prevent the spread of the virus in healthcare settings.
Uptake of the vaccine is significantly lower in care homes, at less than 73 per cent.
A senior government source said: “As we get better data on the impact of vaccines on transmission then it becomes an issue of safety.
“If you are looking after very vulnerable people, you have a professional duty of care to take the vaccine when offered.
“Surgeons have to be able to prove they are immune to Hep B before they can practise.”
The source stressed that the strategy at present was to boost access to the vaccine “at a time and place that is convenient”, adding: “That is the biggest factor impacting uptake.”
But other sources suggested compulsory vaccination was unlikely, with one suggesting the idea was being floated in order to put pressure on employers to do more to improve uptake.
One said: “Obviously, these options get discussed, but Britain has one of the highest levels of public acceptance of vaccines in the world, and the concern is that compulsion can undermine that.”
Christina Mcanea, general secretary of Unison, said: “Forced vaccinations send out a sinister and worrying message. Encouragement and persuasion rather than threats and bullying are key to a successful programme, as ministers themselves have repeatedly indicated.”