One in 10 carers yet to be vaccinated in order to go to work

ALMOST one in 10 care home staff has not received their first Covid-19 vaccine just days before they are legally required to have the jab, according to NHS figures.

Care home staff must have had their first dose by Sept 16, allowing time for them to be fully vaccinated by Nov 11.

As of Sunday, about 9 per cent of England’s 556,000 adult care home staff had yet to receive their first dose of the vaccine. The data, released by NHS England, also suggest that there are already 8,748 fewer staff working in the sector than in mid-may.

In July, MPS backed plans requiring care home staff to be inoculated against Covid-19. Prof Martin Green, the head of Care England, has warned that the rule, mixed with a chronic staff shortage already facing the sector, could result in some care homes needing to close.